U.S. Holiday Shopping

Sales among U. S. stores went stronger than expected over the weekend causing a relief for most retailers who were expecting a bleak shopping period due to overall slowdown of the economy. However, even though the figures are up, signs of more troubles were evident. Apparently, the bargain prices which helped drove shoppers to buy were so shocking that some analysts predicted that these stores will see a much worse profit slashing from their sales in the long run.
Most retail experts consider the Friday after Thanksgiving Day as the overall barometer of retailing performance for holiday sales which basically account for at least 25 percent of their annual sales. The very indicator for these retailers came out when ShopperTrak released a report indicating a 3 percent increase of sales last Friday compared with last year’s performance. Moreover, the National Retail Federation (NRF) added that shoppers spent at least 7% more this year compared to 2007 with an average shipper spending about $372. 7 from Friday through Sunday. According to Kathy Grannis of the federation, “It seems that not only did retailers do a good job of attracting shoppers but it seems that shoppers were also excited again to take part in the tradition of Black Friday weekend. ” Friday’s store sales which ranged from 50 to 70 percent will not provide better profits for retailers in the long run experts said.
It was such an indicator that “retailers are somewhat desperate to sell”, according to Hana Ben-Shabat, of A. T. Kearney’s retail practice. NRF reported that 172 million shippers visited shops and online stores after Thanksgiving weekend which is up from 147 million shoppers last year. In general, shoppers bought low-cost items like clothes, DVDs, video game CDs and other accessories. Gift card were not as popular having a 10 percent decrease in sales.