Results tagged “retailsales”

By all accounts, for any shoppers interested in buying during these tough times, do retailers have a deal for them! Apparently consumers spent 20% less on women's clothing, electronics and jewelry this month and last month versus the same period last year, so retailers slashed prices (holiday sales can make up 30-50% of their bottom lines). Retail industry analysts said the many deals will be found in "bundled" deals—like "Buy a laptop, get a free printer, ink cartridges — and paper." However, there was a bright spot for one retailer: Amazon.com said it had its best holiday season ever. The Wall Street Journal reports that on Amazon's biggest day, December 15, "it received more than 6.3 million orders, at a record pace of 72.9 items per second." The online retailer's big sellers between Nov. 15 and Dec. 19 include the Wii, Eyeclops night-vision goggles, a 52" Samsung plasma TV, Apple's 8GB iPod Touch, and the Acer 8.9" netbook.

Holidays sales data has been grim, as the International Council of Shopping Centers expects "sales at established stores" to fall 1.5-2% this November and December ("the weakest holiday season since at least 1969" according to the AP) and, per credit card data, retail sales are down 5.5-8% versus last year. CNBC reports, "It took massive discounts, longer store hours and promotional giveaways to even get shoppers to the mall this season. Still that last minute rush could not save stores from double-digit sales declines across virtually every category." And while online sales did well, with consumers looking for bargains, they were still down 2.3%.

After five days of gains, the stock market is looking at a lower open today. CNBC reports, "The major indexes indicated drops approaching 2 percent." Joseph Poon, head of Mcquarie Private Wealth Asia, referred to data from the retail industry, "The market is really spooked I'm afraid. We just have to see some stability… the US consumer is usually the guy that's going to pull us back." While sales were up on Black Friday, both in person and online, there were deep discounts that cut into profitability. The National Retail Federation said, "We take all of this into context and realize Black Friday is not going to save the holiday season. Regardless of retail sales, retail profits are another matter. Everything they sold was at a razor-thin margin." And today happens to be Cyber Monday, the unofficial start of the online holiday shopping season.

I'm only shopping for things that are discounted. Nothing full price."

Speaking at the European Central Bank Central Banking Conference, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said central banks are prepared to continue to work together and do more to help the global economy during the current credit crisis. In his speech, he noted, "The continuing volatility of markets and recent indicators of economic performance confirm that challenges remain. For this reason, policymakers will remain in close contact, monitor developments closely, and stand ready to take additional steps should conditions warrant." Back in the states, retail sales fell 2.8% in October--"the biggest since records began in 1992"--and stocks have dropped 1.6-2.65% this morning.

Stocks opened lower this morning. The bad news included the data that U.S. retail sales have fallen 1.2% in September, "the most in three years," according to Bloomberg News. It marks three consecutive months of declines (a first since 1992) and an economist at Global Insight Inc. sums it up, "The fourth quarter is guaranteed to be terrible."