Crucial Weekend Sales Are Robust but Not Spectacular
Retailers remained anxious Sunday after the last full weekend of shopping before Christmas appeared robust but not spectacular, despite generous bargains for many goods.
The retail industry -- which had an uneven start to the holiday season and has seen disappointing crowds at the malls since -- was hoping for a big sales bonanza. But with lean inventories and the final crucial days still yet to come, stores are not panicking.
Again, merchants are relying on procrastinators during the final days before Christmas and on post-holiday sales -- expected to be boosted by the redemption of gift cards.
“This was a healthy weekend, but it wasn’t something to knock your socks off,” said Marshal Cohen, chief analyst at NPD Group Inc., a market research company based in Port Washington, N.Y. “But stores aren’t panicking because the season has more time to go. The trickiness of the season is that consumers are calling the shots on where they were going shopping.”
The winners and losers this weekend were the same as earlier in the season. Discounters and electronics stores drew in the biggest crowds, while mall-based apparel stores were a mixed bag, Cohen said. Luxury stores did well, though their sales gains didn’t appear as robust as a year ago, he said.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s largest retailer, said Saturday that December sales growth was still on track to be up 2% to 4%. But it noted that food sales continued to outpace general merchandise sales. That may not bode well for earnings, as food carries thin profit margins.
Karen MacDonald, a spokeswoman at Taubman Centers Inc., which operates or owns 23 malls in 11 states, estimated that business and traffic were up in the mid-single digits over the weekend. She estimated that luxury stores enjoyed double-digit sales increases.
Tracey Gotsis, senior vice president of marketing at Santa Monica-based Macerich Co., which operates 80 malls nationwide, noted that early estimates showed that strong traffic for the weekend made up for the shortfall earlier in the season.
Analysts expected this past Saturday to be the busiest for store owners this season, but given this year’s quirky calendar, it could lose some luster. This year, Christmas Eve falls on a Saturday, the first time since 1994, and Hanukkah is later than usual, starting Dec. 25. Those factors will increase last-minute shopping, said Michael P. Niemira, chief economist at the International Council of Shopping Centers.
Booming gift card sales and robust online sales are also helping to skew sales figures. Gift cards, again a big winner this holiday season, are recorded as sales only when recipients redeem them.
According to ComScore Networks Inc., non-travel online spending during the first 46 days of the holiday season ended Dec. 16 totaled $15.86 billion, up 23% from the corresponding year-ago period.
