More retail forecasts for festive season

"We are expecting a marginal increase compared to last year, which has been the case since 2008. During the last few festive periods there have been small single digit percentage increases each year," says Natasha Hardy, its senior manager marketing and communications.

"Generally, festive season retail sales, which begin around mid-November and end in early January, represent about 20% of annual sales. This indicates how important the festive period is for retailers.

"We expect the 2011 festive season to follow similar trends to previous years with consumers spending on an increasing credit basis which then needs to be paid back in February and March where we traditionally see a spike in creditor defaults."