Holiday Sales Reports Differ

NEW YORK CITY-Two reports issued last week on projected holiday sales came up with different results. A survey issued by the International Council of Shopping Centers and UBS says the average consumer will spend $703 on “holiday purchases.” Meanwhile, a report put out by Santa Monica, CA-based mall owner the Macerich Co. and research firm August Partners found that consumers expect to spend an average of $898.38, $608.15 on “holiday gifts” and $290.23 on “decorations, parties and other holiday purchases.”

Locally based ICSC’s survey was done by phone and surveyed 1,018 adults. Macerich, however, interviewed 6,200 shoppers in its centers. “It may enhance their answers because they’re shopping,” said Garry Butcher, Macerich’s VP of marketing and consumer research. “We’ll see who was closest in January.”

Michael Niemira, ICSC’s director of research, said the results could have come out differently because of how questions were worded. He also acknowledged that since the people surveyed in the Macerich report were shopping, it could have influenced their responses. “The numbers may look different, but with the variance, it’s by no means clear,” he said.