I must be tired. I read the headline & thought “Gee, I should post that on FR”. Then I realized I was reading it on FR. And no, I’m not tired from shopping. I actually worked today.
This is good news. Someone posted somewhere earlier they heard sales were way down.
Obviously personal observations aren’t always accurate, but, I was out today for a few minutes and noticed traffic was light and parking lots were somewhat empty. Not too much going on. There seemed to be maybe a few extra people out and about but nothing like I have seen in prior years. The only store I went to was Target (side note: They had ALL the registered opened, so kudos to Target for that.) and there were a few people there over normal but it seemed much less than usual for Black Friday. The weather was great and sunny out but there just wasn’t the people usually seen this time of year.
There’s no good news in this story because there’s no new information. “Sales soar”? Based on what, AP? Fat women killing themselves to hoard $2 waffle makers?
The 152 million expected shoppers is what they’ve been reporting all week. It’s an estimate based on extended hours and the hopes and wishes of the National Retail Federation. The story on Drudge says there were disproportionate numbers of teenagers out cruising the shops and malls. When you consider that teens have an astronomical unemployment rate, no credit and their parents have less disposable income than they’ve had in a generation, that’s a horrible sign. Chances are pretty good the yutes lifted more than they bought.
Not to mention loss-leader pricing doesn’t stimulate add-on sales in an economy like this. The zero-margin LCDs cost WalMart money to sell if they’re not selling HDMI cables and wall mounts to go with them. What the retailers sold doesn’t matter. It’s how much profit they made.
We won’t know anything until early next week, but I’m guessing the numbers that actually matter are going to be dismal. Although I’m sure that the AP will find a way to spin a happy face on them.
That may be true....But I can damn well guarantee after watching todays market action...the consensus...Market commentators..(not the real market) will find it.. “better then expected!”
My husband and I own an antique shop. I’ve been a business owner for 24 years and I have always had a Christmas Open House the two days after Thanksgiving. Over the years, we’ve built up a good regular customer base of people that come from everywhere (mostly coming home to visit family). October & November have been slower than the last few years, which have been slower than before.
Today, we had the Open House. There were not as many people as last year, and a lot of my regular travelers were missing. Maybe they’ll show up tomorrow. Money-wise, our sales were OK - nothing to brag about, but we did OK. I know a lot of small business owners (was president of our local merchant’s association for years) that are hanging on by their fingernails. If they don’t have a good Christmas season, I know several that will close. It’s sad to see.