Posted on 12/25/2012 4:22:09 PM PST by Steelers6
The annual holiday shop-a-thon drew to a muted close for many retailers, according to preliminary data, reflecting what some experts said was the slowest growth in spending since the 2008 recession.
For the eight weeks from Oct. 28 through Christmas Eve, retail sales for the holidays rose just 0.7% from the year before, according to MasterCard Inc.'s SpendingPulse unit.
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A man with shopping bags sleeps in Macy's in New York on Monday. . After falling 5.5% in 2008, holiday sales rebounded strongly in 2009 and 2010, and rose about 2% last year, according to the company's data, which are based on sales activity in the MasterCard payments network and estimates for all other forms of payment, including cash and checks. The figures exclude restaurants and sales of automobiles, groceries and gasoline.
This year, "it's a lost season," said Michael McNamara, Spending Pulse's vice president of research and analysis. "Sales and volume are about the same as last year, but the growth was marginal."
He and other analysts said a steep sales decline in the mid-Atlantic states that were walloped by superstorm Sandy dragged down the overall tally.
Retail consulting firm Customer Growth Partners said 2012 looks like the worst holiday-shopping season since 2009. Sales rose roughly 2.8%, after a 5.8% jump in 2011, according to its president, Craig Johnson.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Drove past Walmart yesterday and there were hardly any cars in the parking lot. No one was at Walgreens. I doubt the true numbers show an increase in sales but will we ever be told the truth.
Your point is ridiculous. Person consumption expenditures last year were about $10.7 trillion. Total imports from China were less than $400 billion. Less than 4% of personal consumption.
4% is much, much less than "almost everything".
Customer Growth Partners said 2012 looks like the worst holiday-shopping season since 2009
Today is Christmas and I’ve yet to receive the Fed’s official guide for Holiday purchases. Without a list of the mandated stores and purchase amounts it’s impossible to shop and comply with federal shopping regulations.
Also does anyone know when the free phones are to be delivered. I haven’t received one yet.
Wow. Works of art.
Ditto here.
We carry VERY little to no credit card debt in our household. We have them, but almost never use them. If we MUST use a CC for something, we just have a debit/credit card that’s linked to our checking.
That is some stunning walnut.
I bet the availability hasn’t been updated lately. There are 0 AR’s in the local gun shops here. They all sold out in a couple of days after the Newtown shooting. No mags either.
My wife joined a local Facebook group called “Matters of the Heart”. People post all kinds of things. She got toys and clothes for the g-kids. Items people are giving away for free instead of taking it to one of the thrift places or throwing it away.
Weak holiday sales, gasoline ~$4.00, unemployment 8%, real one twice as much, taxes going up, Obamacare kills, and still they all voted for Obammunist! Go figure!
I LOVE sweet potato pie, it will make you throw rocks at pumpkin pie (which I never really cared for.)
My first taste of of it was 1981... A dear, sweet black lady I used to work with brought one in to work. I’ve worked over the years to come up with a really good one, with a coconut-graham cracker crust.
Just another day.
Thanks for that tip!
Thanks for that tip!
I said several years ago that as Black Friday becomes more and more of an “official” Christmas shopping event that more and more people would do all their shopping then. It means we would see bigger and bigger numbers for Black Friday weekend while total Christmas spending would be down, assuming the economy is contracting.
BTW, this was the third year our family bought presents only for children.
We were not going to buy much in gifts but in the l last two weeks we went went shopping. We bought the big item each member of the family had on their list but avoided the impulsive stocking stuffer stuff.
Nothing on credit.
I made a larger than normal deposit in the little red Salvation Army pot this year.
The cost of labor is not what drives business overseas. That is a big fallacy. Exception is items like shoes, garments that are labor intensive, Regs, insurances, G&A is the savings. Also less capital intensive to buy from a mfgr than commit to equipment. Unions don’t play the role in exporting jobs that you think they do.
Kids got some used electronics from Gamestop and Craigslist and some small toys.
My wife and I pulled an extra Christmas Angel off of the table at church and gave each other that.
Cashing in EE savings bonds and buying stuff for the farm before the hyper-inflation hits.
I hope you saved money while you could and that business gets better for you and all of us. : (
We bought cases of food for each family member.
Son got case of wolf brand chili, grandson got refried beans, etc. At least now, they have a beginning of storage. Lots of ammo changed hands around the family circle. Biggest item of all was...food. No one complained.
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