Nation’s retailers post best sales in two years

[dogday]

Consumers spend with enthusiasm in April, seem unfazed by gas prices

NEW YORK - Consumers, seemingly unfazed by rising gasoline prices, spent enthusiastically during April, giving retailers their best performance in two years.

Warmer weather, a late Easter and hot fashion trends helped entice shoppers, but merchants remained wary about the possibility that expensive gas and higher interest rates could still curb consumers’ appetites.

As major retailers reported their sales figures Thursday, many including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Target Corp., Nordstrom Inc., Abercrombie & Fitch Inc. and Limited Brands Inc. had better-than-expected results. Even Gap Inc., which has disappointed Wall Street for months, posted a smaller sales decline than analysts expected.

“It looks excellent,” said Jharonne Martis, an analyst at Thomson Financial. She noted that although there are worries about the strength of sales in the next few months, “Consumers beat expectations. It seems like all stores got traffic.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12626269/

:wtf:

[CountAllVotes]

1. yeah wtf is right!

I haven't been buying much of anything since Xmas!

:kick:

[leveymg]

2. People going out and splurging their instant tax refund money.

That's the only thing it could be.

[Dora]

3. It's all tax refund money.

That stream will dry up in a matter of weeks.

[enigma000]

4. How many financial analysts & company spokesmen are on the BFEE payroll?

I mean, they all can't be part of this conspiracy.

[Ron Green]

5. Shopping is one of our society's addictions.

Along with eating badly, following pro sports and watching TV. These are all more fun than spending time with children, going to precinct meetings or meditating.

[Vinnie From Indy]

6. BushCo hype

eom

[Horse with no Name]

7. A couple of factors at play

These places have relaxed their credit standards--giving people credit that would have never got it before. People with poor and impulse spending habits and even worse paying habits.
I am an impulse shopper. When I am broke, it makes me want to shop even more. It makes me feel better to know that even when I am broke, I can have something I want--a security blanket if you will.
This is the reason I refuse to carry store cards and only carry a debit card. It is also the reason that I love Goodwill. I can get my "fix" and usually only spend a couple of bucks doing it.

[jmowreader]

8. There is a thing called "cyclical retailing"

It's also called "season."

This is the spring season. Clothing stores are selling new spring fashions, home improvement stores are selling gardening supplies and the beginnings of large projects (if you're going to do a deck, it's best to start now so you can have it finished for the Memorial Day weekend), car dealers do well in the springtime because people know no one's going to hit a patch of ice and slide into their new car.

Spring season is earlier this year because, thanks to Republicans' stewardship of the environment, it got warmer earlier this year than it did last year.

There's also some Operation Iraqi Liberation veterans' money floating around in the economy, especially around big army bases. These guys make good money over there and it's all tax-free. Most of this is seen in military towns...but since I'm in one...

Also, for some reason, Bush's Bankruptcy Boondoggle hasn't stopped new credit card accounts from being opened. A HUGE amount of this spending is on plastic.