People are not going to be opening their wallets much for the holidays. Consumer spending for the holiday season is expected to be down from last year. Deloitte is out with its first holiday forecast and projects that retail sales will increase by as much as three-point-three-percent, but that's down from a growth of four-percent in 2023. Even with the decrease, it works out to roughly one-point-six-trillion-dollars. With only 27 days between Thanksgiving and Christmas, retailers are expected to launch holiday deals even earlier this year. So look for them beginning early next month, if not sooner.