Disappointing Sales During Holiday Season
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Spending during the Christmas season rose just 3.6 percent over last year, the weakest rate in at least four years, a report by a credit card company said.
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Drugstores reported unusually weak  December sales on Thursday, weighed down by a slow flu season,  lower-priced generic drugs and sluggish sales of seasonal  items.
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Given the importance of consumer spending in driving the U.S. economy, November's disappointing retail sales are a cause for concern.
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After frustrating the nation's retailers throughout the holiday shopping season by waiting until the last minute to buy gifts, consumers are not expected to give merchants much relief in 2005.
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Drugstores reported unusually weak December sales on Thursday, weighed down by a slow flu season, lower-priced generic drugs and sluggish sales of seasonal items.
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The first Christmas shopping weekend of the year may have started with a bang, but it ended with a whimper, evidence from two groups that track sales showed on Tuesday.
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The outlook for the holiday season brightened Thursday as many of the nation's retailers reported an improvement in sales in October. Discounters, however, had another month of lackluster results as their customers cut back their spending again.
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Merchants are describing this year's holiday-season sales as a roller-coaster ride. That could hardly be said about the full-year sales experience. At least a roller coaster offers the contrast of intermittent highs and lows.
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This season&#39;s dismal holiday-sales numbers may be hiding strong results from online operations, home improvement, consumer electronics and luxury stores that can offset the nation&#39;s mall malaise.
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NEW YORK (Billboard) - Just when it seemed erosion of music sales during the holiday season couldn't get worse, December snowstorms compounded the retail industry's misery.
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Shoppers were spending money up until the last minute, but holiday sales were nevertheless a disappointment. So says MasterCard Advisors' SpendingPulse, a report that tracks retail sales nationally.
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The holiday shopping season began with a surge in spending, but consumers faded by the end of the long Thanksgiving weekend and many retailers were facing decent but hardly impressive sales.
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Last-minute shopping helped U.S.  retailers boost sales in December after a slow start to the  holiday season, but hefty discounting caused some companies to  warn profits may be squeezed,
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U.S. retailers on Thursday delivered  mixed sales results for December, the year's key shopping  month, with upscale stores faring well but many others slashing  prices, squeezing profits.
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The Gap had a dismal November sales period.
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Investors may frown as a sluggish holiday season has retailers slashing prices.
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Retailers reported mostly gloomy December sales results, hurt by snowstorms as well as deep discounting aimed at getting cash-strapped consumers to open their wallets during retail's most important month.