JRI, but there's more to the retail story than just Walmart's
(P.S. In my locale it appears that other retailers had more enticing sales advertisements this week, which may have led people to pass up Walmart and go to other stores instead. Also, I noticed another trend start this year; instead of starting the bargain shopping Friday, some retailers started their specials earlier in the week such as Thursday, with Walgreens starting this past Sunday.)
From cbsmarketwatch today:
Retailers start tallying holiday sale
Visa purchases up 15.5%; ShopperTrak sees 10.8% gain
By Carla Mozee, CBS MarketWatch
Last Update: 3:48 PM ET Nov. 27, 2004
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- Retail analysts were busy as elves Saturday, crunching the numbers and tallying sales from the after-Thanksgiving rush that kicks off the holiday shopping season.
Shoppers across the country hit the stores on Friday, rushing to get deals on popular items like DVD players, flat-screen TVs, iPods and, of course, toys.
In an early sign that buying will be strong this year, Visa USA said Saturday that the total of its credit and debit card transactions was more than $4.1 billion, up 15.5 percent from the same day last year.
In breaking out its numbers, Visa said discount and drug store buys rose 20.9 percent, department store and apparel buys rose 15.7 percent, and home and garden transactions were up 15.6 percent. Purchases at specialty retail, gift and hobby stores were flat with year-ago numbers. Visa said its 450 million cards account for about 14 percent of total purchases.
ShopperTrak RCT, which measures store traffic for clients, said it saw a 10.8 percent rise in its national retail sales estimate from the same Friday of 2003. Sales were estimated at $8 billion.
After the ShopperTrak data emerged, Michael Niemira, chief economist and director of research for the International Council of Shopping Centers, cited a "robust performance" and said "the retail industry is cautiously optimistic as the holiday shopping season begins."
J.C. Penney said Saturday that opening its doors at 5:30 a.m. across the country paid off, and it had record sales for the day-after-Thanksgiving.
"Traffic was good, particularly in the early part of the day," said Tim Lyons, a spokesman for J.C. Penney. He said gold and diamond jewelry, men's leather coats and women's gloves and scarves sold especially well. "And a surprise for us was to see footwear was good a selling item," he said.
"It's a wonderful start to the holiday season, but it's just the beginning," said Lyons. "We expect this to be a long and competitive season."
In contrast, Wal-Mart the world's largest retailer, reported November same-stores sales that sharply missed its goal. Wal-Mart said its results from late in the week dropped off noticeably. The average purchase for the week declined, Wal-Mart said. See full story.
To get a jump on holiday sales, department stores, discounters and boutiques like to sweeten the pot with specials. And those were working Friday. See "Shoppers hit the aisles."
But while some shoppers enjoy the crush of the crowds, others are happier buying online and will likely do so on Monday, the most active day of shopping on the Internet. According to comScore Networks, the Monday after Thanksgiving sees a significant uptick in online sales because people are returning to work and will spend company time shopping online. See full story.
The Washington-based National Retail Federation projects that total sales will increase 4.5 percent for November and December, after excluding restaurant and automobile sales. Last year, total sales increased 5.1 percent. It also projects each shopper will spend about $702.03 on gifts. The total traditional retail take is estimated around $220 billion, with Internet sales adding about $15 billion.
On last year's "Black Friday" -- when retailers can see results go into the black -- $7.3 billion in sales made it the season's top sales day, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers and the U.S. Commerce Department. For some retailers, holiday sales make up as much as 80 percent of the year's revenue.
Reports from all over
East Coast shoppers weren't discouraged by cold weather. Laptop computers for $499.99 lured Best Buy customers and $12.88 DVD players were available at BrandSmart U.S.A., according to the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Sun-Sentinel.
A Best Buy store in Massachusetts' Cape Cod Mall had 30 shoppers lined up at 1:30 a.m. Friday, the Boston Herald reported.
In Michigan, Tisby Bryant told the Detroit Free Press that "the animal comes out in people" when doors open and bargains beckon. He was at a Toys "R" Us to buy a Sony PlayStation 2 video-game console.
With gift cards expected to make up about 10 percent of retail sales, Tasha Hood told the Free Press she bought five cards at Lord & Taylor and likes the plastic gift certificates because the gift lets users satisfy their own tastes.
In Seattle, economic forecaster Doug Peterson told the Post-Intelligencer that he expects the Puget Sound region's shoppers to increase their buying by 7.4 percent this year. Job cuts at Boeing factories have hurt outlooks in previous years.
The Dallas Morning News summed up findings of some female fashion retailing students from Southern Methodist University. On accessories, big layered jewelry was in favor while outrageous buckles and pockets were making handbags stand out. Tweed jackets and skirts attracted eyes with the addition of metallic threads or other embellishments, the Morning News said.
Method to the shopping madness
Ellen Tolley, a spokeswoman for the National Retail Federation, said she expects a robust season and that the Federation will release figures that track the start of the holiday season on Sunday. She said this year she's noticed that consumers are more careful to plan how much they spend and where to spend. Tolley said shoppers are doing a lot of research online through department-store Web sites and on sites that help them compare prices and deals.
Tolley also noted one of the NRF's recent surveys found that about 35 percent of shoppers plan to use their debit/check cards-- which take cash out of the user's bank account--as their primary form of payment, up from about 31 percent last year. The survey found 29.5 percent of survey respondents said they were going to use their credit cards to purchase gifts, down from 30.1 percent a year ago.
"More people are starting to shop early and consumers have been budgeting for the holiday season throughout the year," Tolley said. "They also know to get the best price by waiting until the last minute is not a budget-friendly approach."
For those who have unlimited budgets, Beverly Hills, Calif., was apparently one of the destinations. The Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce said Friday sales ranged from $500 to $30,000.
In the land of glitz, a cashmere wardrobe was going for about $10,000 and the average purchase for the day was about $750.
cbs.marketwatch.com
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