"Retailers nervous as Christmas traffic is poor", the headline on the msnbc site. I already figured that out. Every year "every", as far as I remember, December has been shopping hell. You don?t like to go out in the mess, unless you have too, and most of us do have to. But, this year, its so quiet. I can go into the mall, or better yet, Wal-Mart and its no more busy than any given day off season. I predict after the holidays, maybe in Feb or March, you'll see at least two major retailers closing up shop and calling it quits. Maybe K-mart will be done in, maybe JC Penney?s, or possibly Sears? Not to mention the smaller retailers that will close with little fan fare. Here comes the layoffs!
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Retailers nervous as Christmas traffic is poor
- Thread starter randym431
- Start date
maddogchen
Diamond Member
I heard online shopping was doing good. i bought most of my gifts online from tips in the hotdeals section or FW. Maybe a lot of people are like me and would rather shop online from the comforts of home than rub shoulders in the mall.
EDIT: links
online sales up
Nov online sales up
EDIT: links
online sales up
Nov online sales up
IHateMyJob2004
Lifer
Gee, all this job creation is in unskilled laor. Gee, I don't know what could be wrong with the economy.
Sysbuilder05
Senior member
Christmas sales poor in this BOOMING ECONOMY?!?!?!
I'm,I'm shocked beyond belief! Might be because people who used to have $15.00 jobs now work for $7.00 or less,depending on wheather or not WalMart is hiring.
I'm,I'm shocked beyond belief! Might be because people who used to have $15.00 jobs now work for $7.00 or less,depending on wheather or not WalMart is hiring.
dmcowen674
No Lifer
12-20-2004 Retailers continue to worry over slow holiday sales
NEW YORK - U.S. retailers were hopeful on Monday that a dusting of snow on the East Coast would put consumers in the Christmas shopping mood after what has so far been a ho-hum holiday sales season.
The Thanksgiving-to-Christmas period, which accounts for 23 percent of annual retail sales, began slowly this year, with high oil prices and a weak job market blamed for crimping spending, especially among lower-income earners.
======================================================
What "lower-income earners"??? The P&N Elitists swear that wages are the highest ever.
umbrella39
Lifer
They are not known for helping out their employees like that. 😉
Stores to offer late discounts as holiday sales continue flop
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
BY ANNE D'INNOCENZIO
Associated Press
NEW YORK -- Retailers are expected to increase discounting in the final days before Christmas since a late-buying binge failed to materialize during the last weekend before the holiday.
"You will really see some dramatic desperation discounting" this week, said Burt Flickinger III, managing partner at Strategic Resource Group, a New York-based industry consultant.
Such potential discounting is fueling worries that industry profits could be hurt in the fourth quarter. Flickinger estimated that profit margins will be cut by 3 percent to 5 percent in the fourth quarter as a result.
Merchants needed a hefty sales surge this past weekend to recoup lost business after seeing a slow start to a holiday selling season that never gathered steam.
Now, they'll have to rely even more heavily on procrastinators during the final days before Christmas, as well as post-holiday sales. Merchants also hope their bottom lines will be boosted by the redemption of gift cards since they are only recorded as sales when they are redeemed.
ShopperTrak, which tracks sales at 30,000 retail outlets, reported yesterday that total sales fell 3.3 percent for Saturday and Sunday, compared with the same two days last year.
Luxury stores -- which have enjoyed robust sales as their well-heeled customers have benefited from the economy's recovery -- had the best performance over the weekend, despite offering only selected discounts.
In contrast, mid-priced merchants -- appealing to customers more vulnerable to higher heating costs and a volatile job market -- are being forced to pull in customers with big discounts and expanded hours.
J.C. Penney, for example, will be opening at 7 a.m. from Wednesday through Friday, offering deals on jewelry and coats. Sears is offering discounts of between 40 percent to 60 percent on jewelry and 25 percent to 30 percent off watches from Monday through Friday, according to Bill Masterson, a company spokesman.
Still, Jim Neal, a principal at Kurt Salmon Associates, reduced his holiday sales forecast to the low end of his initial range of 3 percent to 3.5 percent.
Flickinger expects stores this week will take additional discounts on heavy winter apparel like outerwear and sweaters, which have been hurt by seasonally warm weather.
The Saturday before Christmas is traditionally the busiest day of the year for merchants, though last year the day after Thanksgiving stole that crown. However, the last weekend before Christmas could be losing its luster as there are more ways to shop for a holiday item.
The increased popularity in gift cards and online spending could be helping to skew the holiday sales figures.
The National Retail Federation is forecasting consumers will spend $17.24 billion on gift cards this holiday season, accounting for nearly 8 percent of the season's sales. Chicago-based General Growth Properties, which operates or manages 220 malls across the country, reported that gift card sales should rise 20 to 25 percent this season from a year ago.
Online sales -- which have been one of the bright spots of holiday shopping and are expected to hit the high end of forecasts -- are not included in ShopperTrak's sales figures nor merchants' same-store monthly sales figures, which cover stores open at least a year.
Online sales, excluding business from travel and auctions, rose 49 percent from Dec. 13 to Friday , compared with the corresponding days a year ago, according to comScore Networks.
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
BY ANNE D'INNOCENZIO
Associated Press
NEW YORK -- Retailers are expected to increase discounting in the final days before Christmas since a late-buying binge failed to materialize during the last weekend before the holiday.
"You will really see some dramatic desperation discounting" this week, said Burt Flickinger III, managing partner at Strategic Resource Group, a New York-based industry consultant.
Such potential discounting is fueling worries that industry profits could be hurt in the fourth quarter. Flickinger estimated that profit margins will be cut by 3 percent to 5 percent in the fourth quarter as a result.
Merchants needed a hefty sales surge this past weekend to recoup lost business after seeing a slow start to a holiday selling season that never gathered steam.
Now, they'll have to rely even more heavily on procrastinators during the final days before Christmas, as well as post-holiday sales. Merchants also hope their bottom lines will be boosted by the redemption of gift cards since they are only recorded as sales when they are redeemed.
ShopperTrak, which tracks sales at 30,000 retail outlets, reported yesterday that total sales fell 3.3 percent for Saturday and Sunday, compared with the same two days last year.
Luxury stores -- which have enjoyed robust sales as their well-heeled customers have benefited from the economy's recovery -- had the best performance over the weekend, despite offering only selected discounts.
In contrast, mid-priced merchants -- appealing to customers more vulnerable to higher heating costs and a volatile job market -- are being forced to pull in customers with big discounts and expanded hours.
J.C. Penney, for example, will be opening at 7 a.m. from Wednesday through Friday, offering deals on jewelry and coats. Sears is offering discounts of between 40 percent to 60 percent on jewelry and 25 percent to 30 percent off watches from Monday through Friday, according to Bill Masterson, a company spokesman.
Still, Jim Neal, a principal at Kurt Salmon Associates, reduced his holiday sales forecast to the low end of his initial range of 3 percent to 3.5 percent.
Flickinger expects stores this week will take additional discounts on heavy winter apparel like outerwear and sweaters, which have been hurt by seasonally warm weather.
The Saturday before Christmas is traditionally the busiest day of the year for merchants, though last year the day after Thanksgiving stole that crown. However, the last weekend before Christmas could be losing its luster as there are more ways to shop for a holiday item.
The increased popularity in gift cards and online spending could be helping to skew the holiday sales figures.
The National Retail Federation is forecasting consumers will spend $17.24 billion on gift cards this holiday season, accounting for nearly 8 percent of the season's sales. Chicago-based General Growth Properties, which operates or manages 220 malls across the country, reported that gift card sales should rise 20 to 25 percent this season from a year ago.
Online sales -- which have been one of the bright spots of holiday shopping and are expected to hit the high end of forecasts -- are not included in ShopperTrak's sales figures nor merchants' same-store monthly sales figures, which cover stores open at least a year.
Online sales, excluding business from travel and auctions, rose 49 percent from Dec. 13 to Friday , compared with the corresponding days a year ago, according to comScore Networks.
KB
Diamond Member
They say this every year. They also always say crime is dropping. But if it droppped every year like they say it does, why isn't it 0?
The malls near me are completely packed. I had to wait in line to park. I will concede that the malls near me are for "rich" people which get the most benefit from Bushs tax cuts, so walmart and others may still be struggling because "poorer" people are struggling more.
The malls near me are completely packed. I had to wait in line to park. I will concede that the malls near me are for "rich" people which get the most benefit from Bushs tax cuts, so walmart and others may still be struggling because "poorer" people are struggling more.
ReiAyanami
Diamond Member
indeed. the rich use their tax cuts to go on a spending spree... buying euros
the 99 cents store near me was packed, and for like the first time evar the circuit city had ppl inside that were NOT employees
the 99 cents store near me was packed, and for like the first time evar the circuit city had ppl inside that were NOT employees
Rei even if your statement about the rich buying euros were true, do you even understand the motivation to do so?
Same reason other countries buy US dollars.
Economics 101
Oh, and as for all the jobs being created being "low wage" Someone needs to tell the companies around where I live that are on a hiring spree right now.....and all these jobs are high pay.
However the kicker is they require an education.....DARN THEM WANTING SKILLED AND EDUCATED WORKERS!!!!
Hey, I love the current economy....my company was so desperate for employees they hired me to do a MIS job while I hold a MA in political science 😛
Same reason other countries buy US dollars.
Economics 101
Oh, and as for all the jobs being created being "low wage" Someone needs to tell the companies around where I live that are on a hiring spree right now.....and all these jobs are high pay.
However the kicker is they require an education.....DARN THEM WANTING SKILLED AND EDUCATED WORKERS!!!!
Hey, I love the current economy....my company was so desperate for employees they hired me to do a MIS job while I hold a MA in political science 😛
[joe dirt] It's not about you, it's the consumer[/joe dirt]
I spent $1000 this year to buy myself that 30 inch LCD. And I got a free phone from Verizon. I figure that covers my winter shopping budget, and I'll buy some clothes after Christmas. Other than that, yes, I am buying euros, natural resources, canadian stocks 🙂
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