Retailers Expect Increase in Holiday Sales

Michigan retailers are expecting slightly better sales over the 2014 holiday period, compared with last year, based on a new survey from the Michigan Retailers Association. MRA spokesman Tom Scott says their September “Michigan Retail Index” survey found 63-percent of retailers expect better holiday sales than a year ago, with nearly a third of them projecting holiday sales increasing more than five-percent from a year ago. He cites lower gas prices and a lower state unemployment rate for the slight improvement. Scott also indicates that the increased sales were expected, but retailers are also showing restraint in their projections. Nationally, retail economists project a four-percent increase in holiday spending this year.