Retail sales are expected to rise four percent this holiday season to $209.3 billion, with heavy promotions and discounts to lure recession-weary shoppers. Discount retailers fared best over the weekend, with extended hours and specials for early shoppers. Nearly half of all shoppers (49%) headed for discount department stores, per the National Retail Federation. Wal-Mart reported record sales for Saturday. More than 75 percent of U.S. consumers shopped on Black Friday, NRF reports.(The Friday after Thanksgiving, the traditional kickoff of the holiday shopping season, is the day many retailers go into the black for the year.) Nearly 31 percent went to department stores, and 27 percent to specialty stores. Sixteen percent shopped via catalog, and more than 33 percent shopped online, reports the Washington, DC-based federation. Internet sales were up 40 percent to $151 million on Black Friday, per Reuters.
The shortened season-six days shorter than last year-helped get shoppers started early, and may keep retailers focused on traffic-building promos rather than price cuts. Many retailers have kept inventory in check to avoid last-minute discounting, Reuters reports.
Consumers plan to spend about $650 per household on gifts and holiday accessories, up from $632 last year. About eight percent are done buying holiday gifts; most shoppers have only one-third of the chore done, per NRF. Top gifts over the weekend were books, CDs, DVDs, videos and videogames (bought by 41% of shoppers); clothes (40.4%); toys (34.6%); and home furnishings (23.7%). BIGresearch conducts NRF’s annual three-part Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions survey, polling nearly 7,000 consumers Nov. 28 to 30.
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