2019 Holiday Sales Might Fall Short Of Expectations

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The 2019 holiday season may produce sales that don’t quite live up to the hype.

The American consumer has been lifted up by low unemployment and other factors for the last while. Despite that, this holiday season could prove quite lackluster in the retail sector.

Goldman Sachs’ retail analysts recently released news that will come as a disappointment to many retailers. We are currently in the middle of the largest period of growth in US history. The reason for this unprecedented period in American history is quite clear; the strong American consumer has kept the world’s largest economy growing. However, recent signs of consumer weakness may cause retailers some hardships for the coming holiday season.

Retail data showed a 3% year-over-year decline in spending for the month of September. This was a disastrous result considering previous estimates of a 3% growth in retail spending. However, Goldman Sachs’ reasoning cites a different kind of concern altogether. “Although recent spending momentum seems supportive of a healthy holiday season in 2019, our analysis points to potential headwinds from a shorter holiday calendar, especially when examining retailer results in prior periods when this dynamic transpired,” Goldman Sachs analysts explained in a note Monday morning.

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