A handful of holiday forecasts are in and things are predicted to be pretty merry, with sales possibly topping 5% growth from last year by some estimates.
But the November/December season hasn’t been an industry-wide celebration for the past five years or so; instead, there are winners and there are losers, according to Kasey Lobaugh, chief retail innovation officer and omnichannel retail practice leader for Deloitte Consulting. While the consensus holds that a generally thriving consumer bodes well for the holidays this year, there is, of course, not one consumer but many, on a variety of budgets, facing a range of financial realities.
