Standard & Poor’s currently believes the NationalRetail Federation’s (NRF) forecast of 4.0% holiday sales growth may be too highgiven economic concerns, the continued housing weakness and high energy costs.Nonetheless, S&P research contends the $924 in projected consumer spendingby the NRF may actually increase as online sales and gift card sales expand.

To that end, online sales between Nov. 1 and 26 rose17% to $10.74 billion, sparked by a 29% increase on Thanksgiving Day to $270million and 22% and 21% total sales gains on BlackFriday and Cyber Monday(Nov. 26), respectively, according to comScore, Inc. On Cyber Monday specifically, the number ofonline buyers ... Log in to view full article.