Strong outlook for holiday retail

Another article regarding the strong holiday shopping season

Most forecasts run 5 to 6 percent above 2005, promising a lift for the US economy.

NEW YORK – The US economy is about to get its largest jolt of the year: the annual holiday buying blitz that ends 31 days from Friday.

By the time all the wrapping paper is discarded, Americans will spend $676 per household, for an estimated total of $251 billion, according to one survey - an amount more than the annual gross domestic product of Chile and Israel combined.

The nation's holiday spending, even adjusted for inflation, sets a record every year, and this year will be no exception. Surveys and analysts predict holiday spending will rise about 5 to 6 percent over last year, which was 6.1 percent higher than 2004. If this level of spending prevails, it will give merchants - and the economy as a whole - a solid foundation going into 2007....

...Americans will be entering the holiday period with enough cash in their pockets, or room on their credit cards, to happily hit the malls, some economists and retail experts say. "Every month this year, all the way back to last October, there has been an increase in real disposable income," says Richard Feinberg, a researcher at the Purdue Retail Institute in West Lafayette, Ind....

By Ron Scherer Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor