The kickoff to the holiday shopping season has given retailers plenty to fa-la-la about: The National Retail Federation reports that 189.6 million people shopped over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, up 14% from last year. And between in-store and online shopping, spending increased 16%, with an average of $361.90, up from $313.29 last year.
Deloitte expects holiday spending to rise between 5% and 5.6%, with sales in November, December and January expected to top $1.1 trillion.
