/24-7PressRelease/ - January 30, 2008 - According to the National Retail Federation, the world's largest retail trade association, consumer confidence in September fell to its lowest level since November 2005.
The eighth warmest September in years had hurt demand for cold weather apparel and goods while gasoline prices 22% higher than a year earlier also tightened shoppers' budgets, according to consulting firm Weather Trends International.
Retailers may be forced to increase their discounts and promotions to drive traffic heading into the holiday season, when many make their biggest sales and profit for the year, analysts said.
Unicorn Ventures are said to believe that the moderate consumer has also been impacted by a challenging economic environment.
A source claimed that analysts at Unicorn Ventures are anticipating that US retailers may slash their third-quarter profit forecast as they increase discounts in October, thereby hurting profit margins.
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