NEW YORK, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- Inflation-weary U.S. consumers were projected to splurge this year on holiday gifts, food and decorations-fueled by online purchases, according to industry estimates, but the gains were increasingly driven by higher-income households, those making more than 100,000 U.S. dollars a year, with lower-income Americans squeezed by higher prices for groceries, child care and other monthly expenses, reported The Wall Street Journal on Thursday.
"Not every retailer has navigated the turbulence well," noted the report. "The Container Store and Party City chains both filed for bankruptcy protection in the days before Christmas. Meanwhile, the founding family of Nordstrom clinched a deal to take the struggling department store private."
