Chief marketing officers at leading
U.S. retailers expect comparable and overall sales for the 2010 holiday season to increase by 2.83 percent
and 3.51 percent respectively, according to a new survey.

This is a big jump in expectations from last year (comparable:
1.4 percent, and overall: 2.6 percent) and would be a marked improvement from both the 0.4
percent uptick in actual holiday sales and the 3.9 percent decline retailers
experienced in 2008 (reported by the NRF).

According to the survey, CMOs increased their inventory
purchases by 2.8 percent. More than one third of CMOs say their inventory purchases
have measurably increased since last year and only 16 percent of retailers are
citing a decrease. Stable inventory levels have been largely reported, with 52
percent of CMOs saying their volume has stayed about the same.

The findings are from the most recent edition of the BDO USA
Retail Compass Survey of CMOs, which examined the opinions of 100 chief
marketing officers at leading retailers located throughout the country. The
retailers in the study were among the largest in the country, with revenues
ranging from $100 million to $100 billion. The survey was conducted in October 2010.

JCK