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Getting Hot for the Holidays
The Christmas & Holiday Buying Preview
By Kevin Zimmerman
T’S NEVER too early to start thinking about the the 2008 holiday season saw sales decline by 2.8 percent. Th e
“
holidays,” goes the old saying, and while the summer fi rst such decline since the NRF began tracking data in 1995.
Imonths may seem a bit premature to start contemplat- Reasons for the sharp drop-off regularly cited include fewer
ing the upcoming holiday season for some people, it decid- holiday shopping days in 2008, and severe winter weather’s
edly is not, for web based and brick and mortar stores alike. negative eff ect on shopping. But the real story, of course, was
Especially aft er the sales numbers posted for Holiday Season the growing decline in the economy, which led many stores
2008. According to SpendingPulse, a data service provided to panic and off er such deep discounts that they ultimately
by MasterCard Advisors that estimates U.S. retail sales, total hurt their own bott om line. Add in the fact that up to 50
store sales fell about 3 percent in November and December percent of some stores’ sales are usually derived from the
combined. For the period of Nov. 30-Jan. 3, 2009, apparel holiday season, and that bott om line turns an even deeper
sales fell by 17.3 percent, footwear by 12 percent, electronics/ shade of red.
appliances by 17.3 percent, and luxury goods by a whopping So where are things headed for Holiday Season 2009?
27.6 percent. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, most observers, both at the
Even the National Retail Federation (NRF), which usu- associations and the sellers themselves, are feeling prett y
ally can be relied upon for a sunnier outlook, reported that upbeat about the prospects, if they can hang on until then.
Continued On 26 whwytriright
24 August 2009
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