U.S. retail expects sales to slow down this Black Friday

“Black Friday” kicks off the traditional pre-holiday shopping, but this year shoppers are under pressure from inflation.

Rising prices on food, rent, gasoline and other household expenses are negatively affecting shoppers.

As a result, many are reluctant to spend money unless they see big discounts and are becoming more picky about their purchases.

“There won’t be as much money this year as there was last year,” said Manhattan social worker Kathy Leach, wandering between the racks at Walmart in Secaucus, N.J.

The National Retail Federation, the largest industry association, expects pre-holiday sales growth to slow to 6 to 8 percent, down from a blistering 13.5 percent last year.

But those figures, which include online sales, are given without accounting for inflation, so real spending may be even lower than last year.

Adobe Analytics predicts that online sales will rise 2.5 percent between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31, down from last year’s 8.6 percent, when shoppers were hesitant to return to conventional stores.

Analysts see the five-day Black Friday weekend, which includes Cyber Monday, as a key indicator of shoppers’ willingness to spend money, especially this year.

The period between Thanksgiving and Christmas accounts for about 20 percent of annual retail sales.