Re: Computers & Christmas sales
According to an article in the Business Section of The Washington Post
(11/28/96), clothes are the hot item this year. As for electronics, I am quoting from the paper:
" *That's true, unfortunately,* said Brad Anderson, presidentof the consumer electronics retailer Best Buy Co., which is based in Minneapolis and has nine stores in the Washington area. Anderson said computers *aren't doing particularly well,* and sales of consumer electronics such as TVs, VCRs and stereos *are also not terribly vibrant.* Smalles items though, such as CDs, some personal electronics and computer software, are selling better at the chain's 272 stores.
It's Anderson's theory that people have bought so many high-tech products in the past years that the market has hit a temporary saturation point. And other than the Nintendo-64 system -- which is selling very well everywhere -- there's not much that's new, he said.
A National Retail Federation survey of 1,000 consumers shows the shopping shift: While 22 percent of the consumers said they would buy electronics and ONLY 6 PERCENT MENTIONED COMPUTERS (emphasis added),
59 percent planned to buy women's clothes this year as gifts. "
Thus, the wifes of executives at Compaq, Toshiba, HWP, Dell, etc. will probably be happy but their husbands might not.
CA
N.B. My own unscientific survey of shoppers at CompUSA, MicroCenter, Best Buy in the last few weeks shows that 8 percent intend to buy computer systems. About half said they would give the equivalent cash as Christmas presnt to be used for computer purchases during the January after-Xmas sales. |
