Sales at U.S. retailers declined for the third straight week as storeowners grappled with winter storms and rising gasoline prices that discouraged shoppers during what may be the worst holiday season in five years.
Sales in the seven days through Dec. 15 fell 0.4 percent from a year earlier, following declines of 2.7 percent and 4.4 percent the previous two weeks, Chicago-based ShopperTrak RCT Corp. said yesterday.
This year's holiday shopping season may grow at the slowest pace since 2002, according to the National Retail Federation. U.S. shoppers finished just 20 percent of their holiday gift buying last weekend, according to a joint survey conducted by the International Council of Shopping Centers and UBS Securities LLC. Consumers may be holding out for lower prices in coming days, analysts said.
Expect some serious promotions and price cutting this weekend.
5 comments:
"...winter storms and rising gasoline prices that discouraged shoppers..."
Bullshit.
People love to shop, myself included. Has it occurred to anyone that we're fed up with the scam that is Christmas this year? Some of us just aren't going to do it this year. I am buying what I NEED to get by and accumulating whatever extra cash that I can in the bank account this year because of everything else going on in the economy. No credit card usage at all. Smart shoppers will wait for bargains, if they do much shopping at all. But I don't think I am alone on this and I get so tired of financial reporters talking about things like *snow* preventing me from going to the mall. Puh-lease. Weather doesn't stop us from going to work or school. Why would it stop us from going shopping?
RandyH...
I'm hoarding lots of cash, too, some of it in euros. And Mrs Jimdotz is doing only the required holiday shopping as frugally as possible despite our pile of cash, retailer incentives be damned.
Kohl's has their $10 coupon for every $50 spent again, all weekend. I used them, they spend just like cash, only you have to return. And no, I won't be going shopping anywhere this weekend!!! I shopped the sales carefully and am done.
These are b-a-d Shoppertrak numbers: Oct. and Nov. showed growth, but less than the rate of inflation YoY. This week's Shoppertrak number, combined with last week's (-2.7%) YoY number, the first half of December is now running at about -1.5% (and that's before taking inflation into account).
I note that jobless claims (4 week average), while not at recession levels yet, are now at a 3 1/2 year high.
Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. And today? Today is a gift. That's why we call it the present. nice post and thanks for sharing...
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