U.S. Retail Store Traffic Fell 24% on Pre-Christmas Weekend, Report Shows

[marmar]

U.S. Store Traffic Fell 24% on Pre-Christmas Weekend (Update2)
By Allison Abell Schwartz


Dec. 24 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. retail store traffic fell 24 percent last weekend from a year earlier as deepened discounts failed to entice consumers to spend during what may be the worst holiday-shopping season in four decades.

Retail sales declined 5.3 percent Dec. 19 through Dec. 21 because of inclement weather and a slowing U.S. economy, Chicago-based research firm ShopperTrak RCT Corp. said today in a statement.

U.S. consumers are working with smaller budgets for holiday gifts this year because of rising unemployment and declining home values. Macy’s Inc. and Saks Inc. have offered discounts of as much as 70 percent to lure shoppers seeking bargains, and retailers’ profit margins may suffer as a result.

“The week after Christmas is going to be more crucial for retailers than ever,” Scott Krugman, a spokesman for the National Retail Federation, a Washington-based trade group, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. “The Friday after Christmas, with the discounts we’re hearing about, is going to be like another Black Friday.”

Traffic decreased 6.5 percent for the week through Dec. 20 from a year earlier, ShopperTrak said. The company uses a sampling of more than 50,000 stores in shopping centers and malls to measure foot traffic, or count the number of customers that enter the locations. ........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=agdeTeaKJuGU&refer=home

[TomInTib]

1. Our December sales were 25% of last December's.

A friend of mine is with the biggest retail liquidator in the country.

They are sitting on $2.5billion in unsold inventory.

At the end of the 3rd quarter (before things fell completely apart) were that 20,000 retail doors would close in '09.

I hope mine is not two of them.

[marmar]

2. "I hope mine is not two of them."

I hope yours are not either. Hang tough, my brother.

[TomInTib]

5. As I am fond of saying...

They can't kill a man who was born to hang.

I am in 'til the last drop, Friend.

I thank you.

Tom

[Kahuna]

7. Let us know if we can do anything to help!

:hug:

[Double T]

3. I'm very sorry for your economic pain. If the consumer is out of cash........

no price will ever be low enough. Hang tough bro!

[TomInTib]

4. They can't kill a man who was born to hang.

I'm hangin', friend.

Thanks

Tom

[SoCalDem]

6. It pisses me off to see the breathless tv-ettes

swooning about the bargains to be had.. Every "bargain" has a hidden price.. Merchants are in business to make a profit..not to give stuff away, just to get rid of it..

If every unsold car on every car lot had a price sticker of $1000.00, there would be lines around the block, and "business" would be booming...but we know where it would end..

There will have to be a winnowing.. There are just too many stores with too much stuff to be sold..and as the economy contracts there will be fewer and fewer buying-customers..

[TomInTib]

9. And guess who pays for the 'miles'...

You know those air miles that the card companies offer?

Well, guess who pays for them.

Merry Christmas, SCD. There have been a few of them now, eh?

Tom

[SoCalDem]

14. We all pay ...throught the nose

Merry Christmas to you too, Tom :hi:

[CoffeeCat]

10. Yes, TomInTib...

...we are all family here.

If you have a Web site or a business that you want to mention---I would strongly encourage you to post
about it here. I don't think I'm breaking any rules, by suggesting that.

We're all here to support each other and help each other out. If you've got a business...let us know
what it is.

We just might need or want what you have!

:)

[CoffeeCat]

11. ooops! (nt) delete

[xchrom]

15. dude -- let us know -- keep in touch.

god knows i'm always down to burn a greenback or two.

[nevergiveup]

8. I can totally relate

I am in the same boat and never thought I would see this day after so many many years. As retailers we are way to dependent on holiday sales but it is what it is. I will survive but only if I let some incredibly loyal longtime people go. I am dreading next year.

[CoffeeCat]

12. What scares me the most...

Is Q1 09 sales.

I grew up in a family that owned small businesses in malls. Many family members
were involved in the business and I worked for our family for decades, starting
when I was nine.

It was a fact of life that Jan, Feb sales were less than half of what they were in November
and December. After spending a lot during the holiday season, people hunker down. They
stop spending, preferring to pay off the credit cards or save more. Besides, people are
just tired of shopping. They turn to other activities.

So, it looks like holiday sales are down about 25 percent from last year. This is just
my opinion, but people did go out and spend. They might not have been spending as much
as last year, but people sucked it up and purchased presents.

What we just experienced in December...was a spike in spending because the holidays
forced people to spend. If the numbers were down 25 percent from last year, then Q1 09
is going to be dead in the water for most retailers.

I'm sorry...but I see nothing but retail collapse--due to people spending very little
in the coming months. Some areas of the country, and some businesses will weather
this storm better than others. However, it's going to be brutal...like nothing
we've ever seen.

Sorry to be so pessimistic, but I see no way around this...

[KoKo]

13. In spite of worries about Bankruptcies...the "Gift Cards" in every Kiosk that handles them

showed folks were buying them. Unlike last Christmas, this years cards were gifts for $15 to $50.00 for food at different grocery stores to a gift card for travel on "Jet Blue," to dinner at "Olive Garden, Macaroni Grill, PF Changs, Red Lobster, Cracker Barrell" to a $50.00 card for a visit to "Bed & Breakfast" for any participating member of the "B&B Group" to "American Express & Visa" trying to suck you in after someone gave you a gift card to spend wherever you want.

There were also cards to "buy guns" or to "Fish Anywhere" along with the others that were cards for "Kohls, Target and Best Buy."

There were many interesting "Gift" cards.

[Deja Q]

16. Can they sue God for all the weather storms that occurred over the 19th-21st weekend?

I sure as heck didn't want to drive in that slop, alongside people incapable of independent thought, never mind driving.

[applegrove]

17. There was a bus strike on top of slow xmass sales in my city. A double blow.

[DCBob]

18. The retailers are in huge trouble. They are desperate now to just get rid of their inventory..

even at a loss. But even at huge discounts people are not buying. It looks like many retailers, big and small, will not survive this crisis. It looks like a very difficult new year ahead but it may be a necessary step to rein in consumer madness and out-of-control capitalism. The planet cannot support it long term anyway.