U.S. ‘Black Friday’ Sales Rise 3%, ShopperTrak Says (Update1)
By Lauren Coleman-Lochner
Nov. 29 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. consumers spent $10.6 billion on holiday purchases yesterday as shoppers anxious for bargains flocked to stores.
Sales rose 3 percent from the same day last year, Chicago- based research firm ShopperTrak RCT Corp. said today in a statement. The increase was highest in the South, with a gain of 3.4 percent over 2007 and smallest in the Northeast where sales jumped 2.6 percent.
“So far, so good,” said Craig Johnson, president of Customer Growth Partners LLC, a retail consulting firm based in New Canaan, Connecticut. “But a decent Black Friday figure doesn’t predict the whole season. The question is, how much momentum we can keep” in this “challenging” economic environment, Johnson said.
U.S. retailers are making earlier and deeper price cuts to lure Christmas shoppers, who are coping with the shrinking values of homes and stock holdings along with increasing joblessness. The season can account for as much as a third of annual profit.
November and December sales at U.S. stores open at least a year may rise 1 percent, the smallest gain since 2002, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers, a New York- based trade group.
Sales May Rise
Sales may rise as much as 2 percent for the November- December period after the slow start in the first three weeks of November, Johnson said.
Individuals may spend an average of $616 on holiday gifts this year, down 29 percent from a year earlier, according to a Gallup Inc. poll.
Retailers promoted “doorbuster” deals to attract customers yesterday, called Black Friday because it was said to be when retailers started to make their annual profit.
A worker was trampled by customers and killed yesterday at a Wal-Mart Stores Inc. location on New York’s Long Island, according to local police and the company. At least four shoppers were hurt at the store in Valley Stream, located about 13 miles (20 kilometers) from New York City, Nassau County Police said in a statement.
U.S. shoppers gathered by the hundreds waiting to enter malls on Black Friday, some of which threw open their doors as early as midnight. They were lined up for discounts of as much as 70 percent.
Kohl’s Corp., the fourth-largest U.S. department store, opened at 4 a.m. Wal-Mart and Macy’s Inc. had a 5 a.m. start. Gap opened some locations on Thanksgiving Day.
Fewer Shoppers
ShopperTrak has estimated that 9.9 percent fewer shoppers will descend on stores this holiday season, producing a sales gain of 0.1 percent.
“The mid-level department stores are the ones to watch,” Jay McIntosh, president of Consumer Foresight LLC, a Chicago- based consulting firm, said yesterday in a Bloomberg Television interview. “They’ll struggle this year. People tend to be trading down.”
Consumers’ spending makes up more than two-thirds of the U.S. economy, and recent government data signal they are pulling back.
Americans cut purchases by 1 percent last month, the biggest decline since the 2001 recession. After adjusting for inflation, spending was down for the fifth straight month, the longest streak since 1990-1991, according to U.S. Commerce Department data.
Individuals may spend an average of $616 on holiday gifts this year, down 29 percent from a year earlier, according to a Gallup Inc. poll.
ShopperTrak measures foot traffic in shopping centers and malls using more than 50,000 video devices.
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Last Updated: November 29, 2008 16:06 EST |
