Retailers add revenue when they're used, but states want their share
BusinessWeek Jan 27, 08 2:19 PM CST
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After enduring tepid holiday sales, retailers are happily awaiting $8 billion from shoppers with unused gift cards—because only then can sellers claim the added revenue, BusinessWeek reports. But some US states say that their unclaimed-property laws enable them to extract a piece of the left-over card pie. What's really up for grabs is revenue from millions of cards that are lost or forgotten and go unspent.
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Economists warn 2008 will be a discouraging year
Wall Street Journal Jan 18, 08 2:23 PM CST
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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.”
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Sales drop 0.4% in Dec.; consumers finally slowed by housing woes, gas prices
Bloomberg Jan 15, 08 8:42 AM CST
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Retail sales fell 0.4% in December, an unexpected drop that capped off retailers’ worst year since 2002 and is sure to fuel rampant recession fears. “Consumer spending slowed down pretty dramatically,” one economist tells Bloomberg. “We are kind of flying very close to a stall speed.” Prognosticators had expected sales to hold steady after November’s revised 1% gain; the lag suggests that gas prices, the housing slump, and the weak job market may be catching up with consumers.
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But not enough to rescue some
slumping retailers
Los Angeles Times Dec 25, 07 7:30 AM CST
(Newser)
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Shoppers swarmed in a last-minute buying binge that will help most, but not all, retailers make the season’s sales projections. For the week ended Saturday sales rose 33% over a year ago and for the final weekend of the season were up 18.7%, reports the Los Angeles Times . Still, “a lot of retailers are going to be disappointed,” said one analyst.
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Luxury takes a
backseat to the
practical this season
New York Times Dec 24, 07 3:03 PM CST
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With a shaky economy causing consumers angst this holiday season, online e-tailers say shoppers are opting for functional over frivolous. E-sales of furniture and appliances have spiked more than 70%, while sales of jewelry, watches, and flowers have dropped, reports the New York Times . “It’s certainly counter to our expectations,” said the CEO of Furniture.com.
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Procrastinators find
big sales, long lines
Wall Street Journal Dec 24, 07 9:17 AM CST
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Last-minute shoppers navigated long lines over the final pre-Christmas weekend, nudging retailers toward the modest growth in sales they’d expected. Deep discounts cut into profits, but retailers like Macy's and Kmart stayed open around the clock to accommodate shoppers, the Wall Street Journal reports. “The procrastinators finally got out there,” one consultant said.
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Plagued by high gas and food prices, shoppers hold out for bargains
Bloomberg Dec 23, 07 6:43 PM CST
(Newser)
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Retailers slashed prices nationwide this weekend in a bid to draw last-minute shoppers and lift a slumping holiday season, Bloomberg reports. Pressed by high gas and food prices, consumers are holding out for zero-hour deals; retailers have obliged with half-off sales and extra hours, counting on the last days before Christmas for 9% of season sales.
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Less discounting helps retail giant best expectations
Wall Street Journal Dec 18, 07 12:21 PM CST
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A consumer hankering for big-ticket items—and a willingness to pay closer to full price for them—helped Best Buy's third-quarter profit rise 52%, reports the Wall Street Journal . Absent last year's discounting on flat-screen TVs, the country's largest electronics chain posted Q3 net income of $228 million, or 53 cents a share, versus 31 cents a share a year earlier and analysts' forecast of 41 cents.
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With less money to spend on family, women pull back on purchasing for themselves
New York Times Dec 17, 07 2:07 PM CST
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Women's spending on apparel for the first half of the Christmas season is down, alarming retailers and spawning broad worry in the industry. Experts blame a bleak economy and blah fashions for a slump of nearly 6% compared with a year ago, reports the New York Times . Men’s clothing sales, on the other hand, rose 4.5% in the first 20 days of the season.
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Net surfing window shoppers blamed for crashes, meltdowns
Wired Dec 15, 07 10:14 AM CST
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As online retailers post record sales this year, holiday e-commerce meltdowns show that stores still don't have the kinks ironed out of their sites. Despite increased capacity on retail sites, crashes such as Sears.com's eight-hour Black Friday crash and Yahoo Shopping's 10-hour Cyber Monday outage continue to plague holiday online shopping, Wired reports.
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MARKETS
Good numbers from consumers make for bullish afternoon
Wall Street Journal Dec 13, 07 3:43 PM CST
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Thanks to two pieces of unexpectedly good news today, the markets erased early losses, the Dow climbing 44.06 to 13,517.96 after dipping to almost 13,350 this morning. Retail sales in November increased 1.2%, twice what watchers had estimated. And wholesale prices had their biggest one-month jump since 1973, a 3.2% rise nearly doubling estimates, the Journal reports. Both numbers suggested economic strength.
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Bloomberg Dec 13, 07 10:09 AM CST
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November’s retail sales confounded doomsayers, surging 1.2%, twice the 0.6% analysts predicted, Bloomberg reports. Many had worried that consumer spending would take a hit as gas rose and housing fell, but now it looks like job and income growth could cushion the fall. “The numbers should help put to rest some of the fears of sliding into recession,” said one economist.
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OPINION
Ars Technica sees big game sales driving shelf space decisions
Ars Technica Dec 10, 07 1:09 PM CST
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DVD sales are slipping while video games and their tie-ins are seeing record consumption, reports Ars Technica, leading Ben Kuchera to suggest that video games will replace DVDs on many retail shelves. With even grandmothers now going Wii wild, video games are no longer just the realm of teens and young single males, he writes, despite much higher retail prices than competing DVDs.
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All stores to close after the holidays
Associated Press Dec 8, 07 6:28 AM CST
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CompUSA has been sold to a restructuring company and will be ending retail operations after the holidays, AP reports. The troubled electronics retailer, bought by Mexican telecom magnate Carlos Slim in 1999, closed more than half its outlets in the spring after repeated turnaround efforts failed. Gordon Brothers Group will close the remaining 103 stores after holiday closing sales.
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