Report: The Retailers Most Dependent On Holiday Sales

With the holiday season of 2017 in full swing, here's a look at the retailers that are sensitive to performance in this key period.

Projections for the 2017 holiday sales are optimistic. Retail sales in November and December, not counting auto, gasoline and restaurants, are estimated to grow 3.6-4 percent from $655.8 billion in 2016 to $678.75-$682 billion in 2017, according to the National Retail Federation.

Citing data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Statista outlined the retailer categories that are heavily weighted toward the holidays. The logic of Statista's analysis is this: If sales were evenly distributed throughout the year, retailers would ideally get 16.7 percent of sales from the combined November and December period. The retailers clocking in sales above this number are considered heavily reliant on holiday season sales.

Hobby, toy and game stores derived about 31.1 percent of their annual sales in the holiday period in 2016, topping the list. Jewelry stores were next, with a 28.6-percent share from the period. 

Source: Statista

Department stores and online/mail-order stores receive 24.1 percent and 22.5 percent of their sales, respectively, from the holiday season.

See also: Discount Retailers Are On A Roll This Earnings Season — Here's The Companies Reporting Next

Here's list of the retail categories identified as the most holiday-dependent, with their respective share of annual sales from the season and a few key companies in each sector. 

 

1. Hobby, toy and game stores (31.1 percent)

• Wal-Mart Stores Inc WMT

• Target Corporation TGT

• Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN

• Sears Holdings Corp SHLD

 

2. Jewelry stores (28.6 percent)

• Tiffany & Co. TIF

• Signet Jewelers Ltd. SIG

 

3. Department stores (24.1 percent)

• Dillard's, Inc. DDS

• J C Penney Company Inc JCP

• Kohl's Corporation KSS

• Macy's Inc M

 

4. Online and mail-order retailers (22.5 percent)

• Amazon

• Wal-Mart

• JC Penney

• Sears

• Staples, Inc. SPLS

 

5. Electronics and appliance stores (22.2 percent)

• Best Buy Co Inc BBY

• Rent-A-Center Inc RCII

 

6. Clothing stores (21.8 percent)

• Abercrombie & Fitch Co. ANF

• Gap Inc GPS

• Macy's

• Guess?, Inc. GES

 

7. Gift, novelty and souvenir stores (21.6 percent)

• 1-800-Flowers.Com Inc FLWS

• FTD Companies Inc FTD

 

8. Home furnishing store (20.6 percent)

• Williams-Sonoma, Inc. WSM

• Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. ETH

• RH RH

 

9. Shoe stores (20.1 percent)

• Shoe Carnival, Inc. SCVL

• DSW Inc. DSW

• Foot Locker, Inc. FL

• Genesco Inc. GCO

 

10. Warehouse clubs and superstores (19.2 percent)

• Costco Wholesale Corporation COST

• Wal-Mart's Sam's Club

• Kroger Co KR

• SUPERVALU INC. SVU

 

11. Book stores (18.2 percent)

• Barnes & Noble, Inc. BKS

• Books-A-Million, Inc. BAMM

 

12. Grocery stores (17.3 percent)

• Kroger

• Amazon's Whole Foods

• Safeway Inc SWY

• SUPERVALU

Related Link: How Store Counts Of America's Biggest Retailers Changed Since 2007