Posted on 11/29/2009 1:38:14 PM PST by Baladas
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - American consumers shopped more for bargains at the start of the U.S. holiday season and spent significantly less than a year ago, according to early data released on Sunday.
Consumers said they will have spent nearly 8 percent less on average, or about $343 per person, over the weekend that includes Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday and runs through Sunday, according to the National Retail Federation.
While traffic to stores and retail websites rose to 195 million people from 172 million in 2008, the early data this weekend represents a worrisome sign for retailers, who had braced for weak sales and sought ways to protect margins.
Data released by ShopperTrak on Saturday showed that sales rose a scant 0.5 percent on Black Friday, which is often the single busiest day of the holiday shopping season.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Bizarre stock market logic dictates that markets will be UP tomorrow on the bad retail news.
Bad retail performance => crappy economy => continued low interest rates => cheap loans => dollar “carry trade” won’t unwind soon => continued stock speculation
That's the only type of bricks & mortor I'll help.
Online for anything else.
I will go to piss on Best Buys grave though, been savin' up since Cir. City.
You mean the economy is not improving like Obama (and his ilk) keep saying? NO? (more like no sh!t)
Seriously, you haven’t seen the best “bargains” yet. In this economic climate, the deals will only get better.
Credit is contracting in this country...sales have to drop, and they finally are. You can have all the discounts in the world, but most people do not have a wad of cash that can be spent when desired.
A lot of people are out of work. Can’t really expect them to spend a lot.
I don’t know, the euro is up against the dollar today. Not a good sign for the comming week.
For the last 20 years solid, the media reports that Christmas spending is less than expected. Then they turn around and chide us that we’re all a bunch of pretentious materialistic asses who spend hundreds of dollars on Christmas every year while people starve. The media is downright schizophrenic on this issue.
Also, we mostly have everything we could ever want already and have no where to put anything else even if we wanted.
>> I don’t know, the euro is up against the dollar today. Not a good sign for the comming week.
My statement was sort of tongue-in-cheek. I really don’t know WHAT will happen; you may be right. But it is quite strange to me how equities went to the moon again when fundamentals suck so bad.
YOu make a very valid point. Why are storage units springing up everywhere? I keep giving things away and still can't find places to put things. I spend very little because there's nothing I need and I don't have any place to put more.
I don't buy clothes as I have enough to last me the rest of my life. I am overrun with "stuff'.
We’re all hopeless geeks in our house. The packages get smaller (and more expensive) as our kids get older; video games and computer software don’t take up much space.
Aside from a few stocking stuffers, I’m doing all my shopping online. No slogging through slush/rain/sleet/snow, standing in lines, finding empty shelves, rotten parking, etc. We’re spending about the same as we did last year and I’m pretty ruthless when it comes to finding a bargain.
Free shipping is the next best thing to sliced bread.
They like to put you in lose-lose situations so they can criticize you no matter what, the elitist airheads that they are.
Dollar down, market up has been the story since April.
I did a huge amount of “Christmas” shopping at the grocery store. Food extras like soda, jerky and sweets for those with tighter employment / finances. Gift cards for the kids’ teachers. Over the counter medical stuff, like arthritis rubs, that Grandma has trouble affording at the moment. It felt a little rewarding and depressing at the same time to have a full cart, very little of it actually for our table, none of it classic “gimmies”.
I did a huge amount of “Christmas” shopping at the grocery store. Food extras like soda, jerky and sweets for those with tighter employment / finances. Gift cards for the kids’ teachers. Over the counter medical stuff, like arthritis rubs, that Grandma has trouble affording at the moment. It felt a little rewarding and depressing at the same time to have a full cart, very little of it actually for our table, none of it classic “gimmies”.
I wonder how much of the “shopping” stats in this article take that sort of shopping shift into account. I spent just as much this year as last, but less on books and toys and more on food and medicine.
Friday afternoon, Waterbury CT Costco, nearly empty. Satuday afternoon, both Dick’s and Modelle’s sporting goods stores, completely empty but for me and emaployees.
I wonder how gun sales are doing?
***Why are storage units springing up everywhere?***
Kids out of work, and Mom or Dad doesn’t have enough room for them AND their stuff.
The thing is each Christmas time must have spending that is greater than the previous year. Not only that, but the rate of increase must increase as well or “Christmas” is a “failure”.
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