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October 11, 2008 11:17:42 PM CDT

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As Consumers Cut Back, Retailers Brace for Trouble

Posted Jan 18, 08 2:23 PM CST in Business 

(Newser) – With consumer confidence skidding as the economy continues to spiral downward, retailers are reconsidering expansion, reducing staff, and trimming inventory, the Wall Street Journal reports. Analysts say 2008 could be the worst year for retail sales since 1991, and one economist warns that the early going “will feel like a recession to many people even if we technically avoid one.”

Final December retail figures haven’t been released, but the National Retail Federation projects a holiday sales increase of just 3% from 2006, below forecasts and the smallest increase since 2002. Analysts say retailers have created some of their own problems with rampant expansion leading to more competition, and the Internet drawing customers away from brick-and-mortar stores.

Source Wall Street Journal

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A shopper leaves a Tiffany & Co. store in San Jose, Calif., in this Aug. 29, 2007 file photo. Retail sales are expected to rise at the slowest pace in six years as shoppers worry about a slumping housing...   (Associated Press)
Chart shows seasonally adjusted retail sales; 1c x 2 3/8 inches; 46.5 mm x 60.3 mm   (Associated Press)
A Saks Fifth Avenue store is seen in Boston, in this Nov. 13, 2006 file photo.   (Associated Press)
Fred Landis speaks with a customer at Claudio Specialty Food at the Italian Market in Philadelphia, Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2008. Frugal shoppers cut back on their spending at the nation's retailers by 0.4...   (Associated Press)
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