Retailers get their Christmas wish: "last-minute surge of sales" helps meet their "modest goals"

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Last-Minute Buyers Give Retailers Relief

ANNE D'INNOCENZIO | December 24, 2007 09:36 PM EST | AP

NEW YORK — Just weeks ago, the holiday shopping season seemed headed for disaster. But in the waning hours before Christmas, the nation's retailers got their wish _ a last-minute surge of shopping that helped meet their modest sales goals, according to data released late Monday by research firm ShopperTrak RCT Corp.

And with post-Christmas shopping to come, some malls and stores were downright optimistic.

While consumers jammed stores at the start of the season in search of discounts and hot items such as Nintendo Co.'s Wii game console, a challenging economy prompted them to hold out until the end for bigger discounts.

An extra full weekend before Christmas also caused shoppers to procrastinate. In fact, Christmas Eve is expected to be a bigger shopping day than in past years because many employers gave workers the day off, with the holiday falling on Tuesday.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20071224/holiday-last-minute-shopping/



Kim Ojacastro shops for Christmas gifts Monday, Dec. 24, 2007, in Pasadena, Calif. Just weeks ago, the holiday shopping season seemed headed for disaster. But in the waning hours before Christmas, the nation's retailers got their wish, a last-minute surge of shopping that helped meet their modest sales goals, according to data released late Monday by research firm ShopperTrak RCT Corp. (AP Photo/Ric Francis)

[Donnachaidh]

1. Surge? WHAT Surge?

Oh Please! Surge implies urgency, and crowds to push through. NOT HERE.

Two years ago, I joked about putting on a headband and carrying an Uzi Rambo-style, to get my Christmas shopping done. And this was said for both presents AND grocery shopping. Road rage and consumer surliness was at it's highest point. People were acting like locusts, quite literally.

This year? Comparing the two -- I expect small businesses to be considering going out of business. There was NO surge here. I went into Best Buy on Christmas Eve, and found stacks of merchandise UNSOLD, and the store looked like a regular day in June - certainly not the frenzied last day of shopping for Christmas.

The spin has started. We should expect more of the same - until the actual figures are released on a Friday newsdump. :shrug:

[qanda]

5. I waited until the last minute to do my shopping

And I can tell you that there was no surge in my area. I hope they met their goals, but if what I saw was any indication then I highly doubt it. The discounts were so deep yesterday that I ended up spending half of what I was planning to spend. I'm glad I waited until the last minute.

[xchrom]

2. that's good -- i'm not going to indulge economic doomsday forecasting.

i'm glad that retailers made some goals -- and i hope people genuinely appreciate the gifts they open on christams day.

Merry Christmas to All.

[shadowknows69]

3. Oh cool, so the businesses that hire thousands of temporary holiday workers

will be able to keep them on full time right?

[BlueManDude]

4. ..and offer them benefits....n/t

[marmar]

6. It's all in the spin.....Here's Bloomberg News Svc.'s take on the same data:

Weekend Surge May Not Rescue U.S. Retailers From Holiday Slump

By Joseph Galante

Dec. 25 (Bloomberg) -- A surge in spending during the weekend before Christmas may not have been enough to rescue Target Corp., Sears Holdings Corp. and Macy's Inc. from the slowest holiday spending season in five years.

Sales rose 19 percent from Dec. 21 to Dec. 23 as U.S. shoppers took advantage of half-off sales and extended hours, Chicago-based ShopperTrak RCT Corp. said yesterday. Even with the late increase, spending during the week through Dec. 22 fell 2.2 percent, the fourth straight week of declines.

``It's not going to overcome the negative forecasts,'' Frederick Crawford, managing director at Southfield, Michigan- based AlixPartners LLP, said of the weekend in a Bloomberg Television interview. ``It's going to be a good start, a very weak midsection, and a strong finish. But those two barbells at the end are not going to be able to overcome these last three weeks, which have been very weak.''

Gasoline at $3 a gallon and rising food prices have discouraged shoppers from spending during November and December, which account for 20 percent of retailers' annual revenue, according to the NRF. Target, the second-biggest U.S. discounter, said yesterday that sales at stores open more than a year may decline in December after customer visits slowed in the weeks after Thanksgiving.

Sales in November and December this year may rise 4 percent, the slowest growth since 2002, according to the National Retail Federation. ShopperTrak has predicted a 3.6 percent increase.

[donsu]

7. did they lower their 'modest goals' to match 'last minute sales'?

bet'cha