NEW YORK CITY—With all due respect to Elvis Presley, retailerscould be in for a green Christmas this year rather than a blue one,according to holiday sales forecasts. Fung Business IntelligenceCentre's Deborah Weinswig predicts an increase of 3% to 4% inconsumer spending during November and December, in line with theInternational Council of Shopping Centers' recent report that moreAmericans plan holiday-related purchases this year, for ayear-over-year increase of 3.3%.

Executive director and head of global retail & technology atFBIC, Weinswig projects holiday spending levels between $626billion and $633 billion this year. “Although the growth rate maybe slightly lower than the 4% recorded in 2014, it is still withinrange of holiday spending growth rates recorded each year since2012,” she writes.

Helping matters for retailers, whether brick-and-mortar orWeb-based, will be one more shopping day between Thanksgiving andChristmas, which falls on a Friday this year. Chanukah runs fromMonday, Dec. 7 through Monday, Dec. 14 this year, a date sequencethat also will add to the post-Thanksgiving rush, according toWeinswig.