Retailers face a fork in the road

As retailers order merchandise for the holiday sales season they’re faced with a daunting task.

Sales continued to decline this summer, and back-to-school sales are projected to be 7.7 percent less than in 2008. If retailers, use this as a gauge to order less merchandise for the fourth-quarter and consumer confidence improves, they’ll miss out on profit.

However, being overly optimistic, the consumer spending this holiday season will improve from last year when sales fell 2.8 percent could pose a risk, too. If retailers order too much merchandise they’re stuck with the leftovers that they’ll have to drastically discount.

So what’s a retailer to do? If you are a business or a consumer, let us know what your approach will be this holiday season.