Americans are feeling more optimistic about the economy and their job prospects. The U.S. personal savings rate as a percentage of disposable income was down for July compared to March. This news has retailers excited at the prospect of a busy holiday season with sales expected to be better than last year, according to Bloomberg.
But the big retailers might not be quite so thrilled with a report by Deloitte, which finds that niche retailers are stealing market share from the larger competitors, such as Macy’s and Walmart. According to Rod Sides, vice chairman of Deloitte: “Everyone’s worried about the Amazon effect and those kinds of players, but at the end of the day, it’s the smaller websites that focus on a specific product category and whittle away at market share.” Online sales are also expected to grow this holiday season.
Here is the data:
$200 billion | The amount of annual sales that have shifted away from big chain brands to smaller, niche retailers, according to Deloitte
$98 billion | The expected amount of sales this holiday shopping season
19% | The expected increase in online sales for this year compared to last year
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5.7% | The personal savings rate as a percentage of disposable income for July, a drop from 6.2 percent in March
4% | The percentage growth in holiday sales this season compared to last season
