Stores reconsider sales strategies after sluggish weekend
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In spite of a burst of Friday spending, the holiday shopping season got off to a sluggish start, forcing retailers to reassess their strategies for luring buyers. Slow sales reported by three retail sales trackers on Tuesday were blamed on higher fuel costs and an overall lack of confidence in the economy.
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Consumers returned to the malls in August for a late back-to-school buying spree, helping many retailers rebound from July's sluggish pace. But analysts are still worried that the weakening housing market and higher food and gas prices will curtail shopping in the critical months ahead.
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Malls were open around the clock and stores came through with huge discounts - but the last weekend before Christmas didn't do the trick, analysts said.
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According to local, state and national retailers and retail associations, the sales figures for the weekend - which included Black Friday, traditionally the year&#39;s biggest shopping day â-id not meet expectations.
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Faced with lagging sales and a plummeting stock, the computer maker tries a new tack: retail stores
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Retailers posted higher-than-expected sales in October, but the growth was uneven, favoring high-end stores over discounters and suggesting that lower-income consumers remain pinched by rising energy costs and sluggish wage growth.
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The nation's shoppers Â taking advantage of deep discounts and expanded hours Â jammed stores over the last weekend before Christmas to try to grab a hard-to-find Wii or scoop up bargains on other items. But the spending surge may not be enough to offset what is shaping up to be a mediocre December for some retailers.
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The nation's retailers had a disappointing start to the holiday season, reporting sluggish sales for November after a much hoped-for surge in Thanksgiving weekend business failed to materialize.
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With Boxing Day falling on a Sunday, retailers reported more modest crowds than in the past at annual discount sales. But they expect to do brisk business this week, as many Canadians will not return to work until the new year.
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(CBS/AP) The start of the holiday season was respectable but unimpressive for many of the leading US retailers, with consumers jamming stores and malls on Friday and pulling back as the weekend wore on.
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Retailers experience a big bump following five weeks of slow sales, according to a report.
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Surging same-store sales don't mean the company's riding a turnaround wave.
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After struggling through a disappointing holiday season, retailers were heartened by a surge in business last week, and a busy shopping day after Christmas, creating more hope that they would meet their modest sales goals.
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WASHINGTON -- Retail sales in August posted the weakest showing in two months as worried consumers curbed their spending habits.
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NEW YORK -- The start of the holiday season was respectable but unimpressive for many of the nation's retailers, with consumers jamming stores and malls on Friday and pulling back as the weekend wore on.
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NEW YORK Dec 12, 2004 - With less than two weeks of shopping left until Christmas, the nation&#39;s malls and stores stepped up discounts over the weekend, but business appeared to be mixed, according to analysts.
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Investors may frown as a sluggish holiday season has retailers slashing prices.