Retailers See Little Late Holiday Buying
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The nation's retailers remained on edge, as the much-hoped for sales bonanza appeared not to materialize on the last weekend before Christmas, despite an abundance of deals on toys and apparel.
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With a weak back-to-school season behind them, US retailers are focused on the holidays and what steps they need to take to get consumers excited about shopping again.
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Investor's Business Daily - Brisk buying of video games and DVDs gave online retailers a leg up this holiday. But while they didn't end up with the lump of coal that offline stores got, their sales growth likely fell short of last year.
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Many online merchants this year will still sell goods with standard shipping terms through Monday, Dec. 18, or Tuesday, Dec. 19, a boon for late holiday shoppers.
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The last minute will be a crucial one for U.S. retailers looking to make holiday sales as data released on Tuesday, one week before Christmas, show that consumers continue to procrastinate and that last week's wicked weather stymied holiday shopping.
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The holiday shopping season ended better than it started, and most retailers are on track to meet humble sales goals, though many still hope for an extra boost this week as consumers cash in gift cards.
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Investor's Business Daily - The National Retail Federation said 33.4% of shoppers plan to spend less this year than last year while only 16.4% plan to spend more. The NRF has forecast the smallest sales gain in 5 years as falling home prices, higher food and energy costs and the credit crunch sap spending. Holiday sales account for 25% to 40% of retailers' annual revenue.
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The nation&#39;s retailers remained on edge Sunday, as the much-hoped for sales bonanza appeared not to materialize on the last weekend before Christmas, despite an abundance of deals on toys and apparel.
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UK shoppers left their Christmas shopping late this year, but there was a seasonal rush in the last 10 days, retailers say.
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The holiday shopping season began with a surge in spending, but consumers faded by the long Thanksgiving weekendâs close and many retailers were facing decent but hardly impressive sales.
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hoAs the holiday season wound down, U.S. residents kept on shopping significantly more than they did in 2006, particularly on the day after Christmas, but they also reported being less satisfied with e-tailers, according to a pair of studies.Between Nov. 1 and Dec. 27 -- the first 57 days of the holiday season -- U.S. shoppers spent almost $28 billion in online retail purchases, up 19 percent compared with the same period in 2006, according to comScore.Shoppers spent $545 million on Dec. 26, more than doubling the spending on that day in 2006, as they took advantage of late-season offers and discounts, according to comScore.Still, it looks like online spending growth for the 2007 holiday season will fail to meet comScore&#39;s 20 percent forecast, and fall way below the 26 percent growth registered during this period in 2006.comScore chalks up the smaller-than-expected growth to several factors, including warm weather in early November and various economic challenges this year, including higher gas prices, the real estate crunch, and a &quot;jittery&quot; stock market, the company said Sunday.Another important metric that dropped this holiday season compared with 2006&#39;s was customer satisfaction, according to ForeSee Results, a provider of online customer-satisfaction measurement services.A survey of more than 11,000 shoppers revealed that, on a 100-point scale, customer satisfaction with the largest 40 e-tailers dropped, in aggregate, to 74 points, down 1.3 points from the 2006 holiday season, according to ForeSee. It conducted the survey in conjunction with FGI Research using the methodology of the University of Michigan&#8217;s American Customer Satisfaction Index.Still, the spending growth in online shopping this holiday season, even at 19 percent, would greatly outpace the growth of overall U.S. retail holiday spending, forecast at 4 percent by the National Retail Federation.That 4 percent growth rate -- which would put 2007 holiday season retail spending in the United States at almost $475 billion -- would fall below the 10-year average of 4.8 percent and be the slowest since 2002, according to the National Retail Federation.
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Seasons greetings are near, but so far there's little cheer for U.S. retailers wishing for "must-have" apparel items to land on holiday shopping lists.
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U.S. retailers are expected to post  modest November sales this week, with No. 1 retailer Wal-Mart  Stores Inc. already cutting its holiday outlook on high oil  prices and warmer weather.
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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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Major U.S. retailers reported modest  gains in November sales on Thursday, as discounting lured  customers, but high energy prices and nagging concerns about a  soggy job market kept buying in check.
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U.S. shoppers have kept a tight grip  on their wallets this holiday season with indices on Tuesday  showing sluggish sales in the second week of the season.
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Retailers are in for a gloomy holiday season, with shoppers weighed down by the weakening housing market and the credit crunch, according to industry forecasts.