‘Black Friday’ Sales Down Some From 2004
From Times Wire Reports
The official holiday shopping season appears to have gotten off to a lukewarm start, said a national research group that monitors retail sales. Wal-Mart was a bright spot, reporting that sales exceeded expectations.
ShopperTrak RCT Corp., which tracks total sales at about 45,000 retail outlets, said overall sales Friday were relatively unchanged compared with a year ago, despite heavier discounting and expanded hours that drew a surge of shoppers in the early morning. The Chicago-based research group reported total sales at $8 billion, down 0.9% from a year ago.
