Free Republic

Shoppers gave retailers a massive boost Saturday by making it the biggest sales day in U.S. retail history. Super Saturday sales reached $34.4 billion thanks to a booming economy and more jobs, according to retail research firm Customer Growth Partners. “Paced by the ‘Big Four’ mega-retailers — Walmart, Amazon, Costco and Target — Super Saturday was boosted by the best traffic our team has seen in years,” said the firm’s president, Craig Johnson. Johnson noted that stronger household finances have “put consumers in a buying mood this season,” adding that more of them are shopping online, which has accounted for...

Retail Sales Fall As Shoppers Hold Off For Christmas BargainShoppers holding off buying Christmas presents in the hope that stores will cut prices in the next few days have been warned that they are likely to be disappointed. By Harry Wallop, Consumer Affairs Editor Published: 2:16PM GMT 17 Dec 2009 The ONS blamed an unexpected drop in retail sales in November on shoppers staying away from department stores. Suggestions that consumers are refusing to spend until stores offer discounts were given support by statistics showing that retail sales declined last month. The Office for National Statistics reported a 0.3 per...

AOL News has the figures from the Thanksgiving weekend start to the Christmas shopping season, and early indications are that shoppers have not been paying attention to gloomy media and political candidates' forecasts about the state of the economy. Retail sales for Friday and Saturday combined rose by 7.2% over last year to a staggering $16.4 billion. Sales on Black Friday alone rose a very healthy 8.3% over last year to $10.3 billion, according to ShopperTrak RCT Corp, which tracks sales at over 50,000 retailers nationwide. The news was even better online, as consumers drove sales up 22% over last...