NPD Group report finds holiday shopping down in 2016

By

Obi Anyanwu

Published
Dec 23, 2016

The NPD Group on Thursday released its Holiday Shopping Bag 2016 Weekly Report including point-of-sale results across in-store and online channels. The report found that dollar sales this holiday season were down compared to 2015 with sales in the first six weeks of the 2016 holiday shopping season being down 4% and dollar sales in the sixth week being down 5%.

Despite the decrease in sales compared to last year, apparel sales for the week ended on December 10, 2016 outperformed the same week in 2015 by 1%. Women’s outerwear was the top performing category followed by men’s outerwear.

“The holiday lull of week six is deeper than retailers want, but they drove it with deeper and deeper discounts. This year’s trend clearly demonstrates how extreme promotions, now most noticeable in toys and electronics, are steering retail off the path of growth,” said NPD’s Chief Industry Analyst, Marshal Cohen.

Cohen added that new factors like weather are expected to impact holiday sales. Brick and mortar stores are expected to gain more sales over online and online shoppers are expected to opt for in-store pick up services.