Consumers expected to set record for online holiday shopping

Enlarge Photo

Online sales are expected to put even more pressure on physical stores and malls this holiday season.

Consumers across the U.S. are expected to set a record for online shopping this year, applying even more pressure to struggling brick-and-mortar retailers and malls.

Bloomberg reports the National Retail Federation predicts the average shopper will make 44 percent of holiday purchases on the Internet. That figure is up from 40 percent last year.

Thanks to employment gains, lower gas prices and other factors, retail sales are forecast to increase 4.1 percent in the final two months of the year to $617 billion – the most in three years.

Read more here.

Want Nashville news in your inbox? Click here to sign up for our email newsletters.