Consumer sentiment may have improved in the past month but merchants are seeing bargain obsessed shoppers. This Christmas is not looking like reignited consumer spending. There is still an economic gloom in the air.
Consumer confidence improves slightly in NovemberBargain-hunting shoppers turned out in droves for Black Friday markdowns, but they didn't open their pocketbooks as widely as last year, according to several retail firms tracking the data. As a result, retailers are only cautiously optimistic heading into the mainstream holiday season, including today's Cyber Monday, and experts believe that many stores will likely have to revamp promotions and discounting plans to ensure that inventories will be cleared by Christmas.
The National Retail Federation (NRF) estimates that 195 million people visited stores and websites over the Black Friday holiday weekend, up from 172 million last year. However, shoppers spent less, with average spending dipping 8%, to $343.31 a person from $372.57 a year earlier. Total spending over the holiday kickoff weekend reached $41.2 billion, up only slightly from $41 billion a year ago.
"Shopper traffic well surpassed our expectations," says Krugman. However, the dip in spending left him cautious, and he continues to project a 1% sales decline for the total holiday season.
Online sales clearly did better, but that's only 4% of total retail sales," says Davidowitz.
After Black Friday, Doubts Grow About a Shopping Uptick