National Retail Federation

Now it's Dad's turn to feel celebration deprivation. Retailers expect Father's Day spending to decline this year because of the recession. But dinner and neckties will still be popular gifts, according to a National Retail Federation survey. The survey found that U.S. consumers are expected to spend an average of $90.89 on gifts for fathers this year, down almost 4% from $94.54 in 2008. Total spending is expected to reach $9.4 billion.

Romance doesn't come cheap - at least not on St. Valentine's Day. A dozen red roses usually cost about $60, according to the Society of American Florists. But with Valentine's Day coming next week, most people will pay about $80, the trade group said. And although restaurant prices don't change, people tend to eat at more upscale restaurants for those Valentine's dates. Romantic couples will spend an average of $146.52 on Valentine's dinner dates, according to restaurant ratings guide Zagat, compared with about $70 on a typical meal for two. "On Valentine's Day, budgets go out the window," Zagat spokeswoman Tiffany Herklots said.

Popular health and beauty products sold on Internet auction sites could be stolen, tainted and possibly dangerous, according to a warning issued today by the National Retail Federation. Advil, Visine, baby formula, diabetic testing strips and other goods are being stolen from stores, warehouses and cargo trailers and peddled on EBay and other online auction sites, said Joseph LaRocca, the group's vice president of loss prevention.

Despite high unemployment and volatile global markets, retail sales are estimated to rise a modest 3.4% in the new year, a survey says. That's below the 4.7% growth that the retail industry saw in 2011, according to industry group National Retail Federation, but healthy considering the economic pressures still facing many consumers. “Over the last 18 months, retailers have been on the forefront of the economic recovery - creating jobs, encouraging consumer spending, and investing in America,” said Matthew Shay, the group's chief executive and president.

Romance doesn't come cheap - at least not on St. Valentine's Day. A dozen red roses usually cost about $60, according to the Society of American Florists. But with Valentine's Day coming next week, most people will pay about $80, the trade group said. And although restaurant prices don't change, people tend to eat at more upscale restaurants for those Valentine's dates. Romantic couples will spend an average of $146.52 on Valentine's dinner dates, according to restaurant ratings guide Zagat, compared with about $70 on a typical meal for two. "On Valentine's Day, budgets go out the window," Zagat spokeswoman Tiffany Herklots said.

It still won't look a lot like Christmas for retailers this year. Retail sales during the crucial November-December period are projected to fall 1%, to $437.6 billion, from the same period in 2008, the National Retail Federation said in its holiday forecast to be released today. That's bad, but not quite so dismal as the 3.4% drop last year, the trade group said. "The expectation of another challenging holiday season does not come as news to retailers," said Tracy Mullin, the group's president.

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will receive a stronger surge in imports than previously expected in the first half of 2010, rising as much as 28% over previous-year levels as the economic recovery continues to gather strength, according to a report released Monday by the National Retail Federation. Overall, imports into the nation's major container ports are forecast to rise 25% during the first six months of the year compared with the year-earlier period. The projection shows that at least some economists are expecting steady progress at a time when others are fretting over the possibility of a double-dip recession.

The nation's top retail trade group said Tuesday that the upcoming holiday shopping season would be the slowest in five years, with sales increasing a scant 4% as consumers worry about war with Iraq and the slow pace of economic recovery at home. The National Retail Federation predicted the November-December sales period would post the smallest increase since 1997. Sales also grew 4% that year as the nation emerged from an economic slowdown. By comparison, sales last year grew 5.

A possible slowdown in back-to-school shopping could weaken the retail industry's recent momentum, according to sales estimates from several retail groups. As retailers roll out fresh back-to-school merchandise and tout early deals, a "shadow of insecurity" tied to the nation's slow economic recovery still looms over many consumers and could hamper their spending, the National Retail Federation said. The retail trade group said in a report Thursday that families with children in kindergarten through high school would spend an average of $603.63 on apparel, school supplies and electronics, down slightly from $606.40 during last year's back-to-school season.

Christmas is right around the corner, but your gift might still be sitting at the mall. In a survey released Wednesday, the National Retail Federation said that on average, consumers had completed just 46.7% of their holiday shopping by the middle of last week. That's slightly less than the 47.1% completed by the same time last year, according to the retail trade group, and the lowest percentage since 2004, when the average consumer had completed 46.3%. Nearly 42 million (19.1%)

Americans spend hundreds of billions of dollars buying gifts during the Christmas season. Inevitably, some people get carried away by the excitement of the season and spend more than they can afford. Here are some tips to make sure you don't end up with a debt headache after the holidays. Budget: "Spend no more than 1.5% of your household annual income on holiday gifts and entertainment," suggests Practical Money Skills, a website operated by Visa. The site offers a holiday budget calculator at http://www.practicalmoneyskills.com/holiday . List: Make a list of every person for whom you want to buy gifts.

Drawn by heavy promotions and earlier-than-ever opening times, shoppers swarmed the malls on Black Friday weekend and handed retailers a good start to the holiday season. A record number of people headed to stores and shopped online from Thanksgiving Day through Sunday, spending more than last year on presents and indulging in some items for themselves. They rang up an estimated $52.4 billion in sales during the four-day weekend, up from $45 billion last year, the National Retail Federation said Sunday.

Costumes are ready, bags of candy wait to be handed out, and monsters of all ages are ready for action. Halloween has finally arrived after a weekend of pre-holiday warmups, and a record number of people are expected to participate in traditional festivities, according to the National Retail Federation. An estimated 161 million people will don costumes, attend parties, decorate their homes and go trick-or-treating, the highest number in the nine-year history of the group's spending survey.

Retail sales in the upcoming holiday shopping season will rise a modest 2.8% to $465.6 billion after a surprisingly solid Christmas last year, according to the National Retail Federation, a trade group. That estimate is significantly lower than the 5.2% increase the industry reported in 2010, but it is slightly higher than the 10-year average holiday sales increase of 2.6%. "The 2011 holiday season can be summed up in one word: average," the federation said in a statement. Matthew Shay, president of the group, said that retailers were optimistic that strong promotions and lean inventory levels would help them deal with consumer caution during the all-important November and December period, when some retailers make as much as 40% of their annual revenue.

A possible slowdown in back-to-school shopping could weaken the retail industry's recent momentum, according to sales estimates from several retail groups. As retailers roll out fresh back-to-school merchandise and tout early deals, a "shadow of insecurity" tied to the nation's slow economic recovery still looms over many consumers and could hamper their spending, the National Retail Federation said. The retail trade group said in a report Thursday that families with children in kindergarten through high school would spend an average of $603.63 on apparel, school supplies and electronics, down slightly from $606.40 during last year's back-to-school season.

Retailers may be seeing more green this St. Patrick's Day. According to the National Retail Federation, 122 million Americans, or 52.4%, said they would celebrate the Irish holiday March 17, up from 45.2% last year and the most in the survey's eight-year history. Consumers also said they plan to spend slightly more than they did last year, an average of $33.97 compared with $33.05 in 2010. Total spending is expected to reach $4.14 billion. Matthew Shay, president of the retail federation, said consumers seemed eager to "shake off the winter blues" by going all out for St. Patrick's Day. That bodes well for retailers and restaurants that will be offering special merchandise, meals and events.

Drawn by heavy promotions and earlier-than-ever opening times, shoppers swarmed the malls on Black Friday weekend and handed retailers a good start to the holiday season. A record number of people headed to stores and shopped online from Thanksgiving Day through Sunday, spending more than last year on presents and indulging in some items for themselves. They rang up an estimated $52.4 billion in sales during the four-day weekend, up from $45 billion last year, the National Retail Federation said Sunday.

U.S. consumers are planning to spend more this holiday season than they did last year, but retailers will have to take big markdowns to lure frugal shoppers, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation. Consumers on average plan to spend $649 this holiday season, up 2.6% from what they budgeted last year.

In the post-recession shopping world where impulse buying largely has fallen by the wayside, retailers are doing their best to remove any obstacle that could make consumers think twice before opening their wallets. So it is little wonder that free-shipping deals are spreading this holiday season. With merchants in the biggest shopping months of the year, waiving shipping fees helps them capture a piece of holiday budgets. Among online retailers, 85% planned to offer free shipping at some point this holiday season, up from 79% last year, according to the National Retail Federation.

An estimated 107 million shoppers went online on Cyber Monday, capping a five-day spending spree that raised retailers' hopes that consumers would deliver the best holiday season in four years, a retail group said. Cyber Monday is a day of online sales that follows Black Friday weekend, which runs from Thanksgiving through Sunday. The Monday estimate of shoppers from the National Retail Federation was a 10% increase from last year. On Tuesday, experts are expected to provide estimates of how much money was spent Monday.