Blue Christmas for U.S. Retailers

And now that the Christmas shopping season is over retailers are looking back at what has been less than satisfying for them. Even though last Friday was unofficially dubbed "Black Friday 2" was it enough to make a difference. Here's a closer look.
U.S. stocks rose in thin volume on Friday (December 26) as retailers hoped to make up for the dismal holiday shopping period by slashing prices in post-Christmas sales to move stock. A report from SpendingPulse, a division of MasterCard Advisors, said sales were down 2 percent to 4 percent from a year ago for the full holiday season, and declined 8 percent in December alone.

[Dana Telsey, Telsey Advisory Group]:
"The deals that are out there now are the biggest deals we've seen. It's almost as if the Black Friday weekend lasted all season long. Typically, 50 to 70 per cent off isn't seen until after Christmas and this year we've seen it before Christmas. While the savings rate has gone up to 2.8 percent, those who do have some extra money to spend will get good items at good prices."

For many shoppers, the sales pitch is working. New Yorker Sonia Swanagan said many of the items she had bought had been heavily reduced.

[Sonia Swanagan, Shopper]:
"I got 65 percent off, 75 percent off, 50 percent off, that's all I'm shopping for - the sales, the good clearance sales."

Surrounded by several shopping bags, Fathia Adedeji said she was impressed with the sales so far.

[Fathia Adedeji, Shopper]:
"Yeah, it's not bad, it's not bad. It's good sales actually because it's all half price clearance, and it's a good bargain."

New Yorker Linda Erekuff said although she was trying to be careful with her money, there were lots of bargains to be found.

[Linda Erekuff, Shopper]:
"It's a buyers market right now, not the sellers. It's a good time to shop."

While the discounts are good news for consumers, the slow sales don't bode well for those who work in the retail sector. Dana Telsey said she wouldn't be surprised if there were job cuts as retailers tried to improve their bottom line.

[Dana Telsey, Retail Worker]:
"I do think we're going to see job cuts in the retail sectors - even this holiday season, the level of holiday hiring was lower this year than it was last year. As the expectation is for more companies to close stores, that will certainly mean a loss of jobs for the retailers."

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• ntd
• christmas shopping
• black friday 2
• job
• retail

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[tbackes]

wow sales are down massively, retailers are laying off and closing but the stocks go up?