Florida retailers can expect a happy holiday season, according to a report released on Monday.
The Florida Retail Federation (FRF) announced that retailers across the Sunshine State should see record sales this holiday season with growth of between 3.8 percent to 4.2 percent over last year. The FRF defines the holiday season as starting on November 1 and ending on December 31.
“Strong sales during the holiday season are fundamental to a successful year for Florida retailers,” said Scott Shalley, the president and CEO of Florida Retail Federation, on Monday. “With one in five jobs in Florida tied to this industry, this positive forecast is fantastic news for Florida families. Florida retailers are already stocked up and staffed to support the demands for this holiday season.”
The average holiday shopper plans to spend $1,047.83 this holiday season, an increase of 4 percent from last year’s $1,007.24 they said they would spend last year. Consumers will be concentrating most of their holiday shopping on gifts with an average of $658.55 and spending an average of $227.26 on non-gift holiday items, including food, decorations and greeting cards and around $162 on average for non-gift deals and promotions.
Across the nation, according to the National Retail Federation, Americans are expected to spend between $727.9 billion and $730.7 billion during the holidays this year, an increase of 2.1 percent from last year’s $701.2 billion in spending.
“Overall, holidays represent about 20 percent of annual retail sales each year, but the figure can be higher for some retailers, including hobby, toy and game stores,” the FRF noted.
Reach Kevin Derby at kevin.derby@floridadaily.com.
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