Despite encouraging numbers, retailers still nervous about sales
NEW YORK (AP) – A rosy sales report from J.C. Penney Co. Inc. and another from America Online Monday were among additional encouraging signs the holiday season got off to a solid start over the Thanksgiving weekend. Still, analysts are cautious about how the rest of the holiday shopping season will fare.
All year, merchants have seen erratic consumer spending behavior, with consumers pulling back for a few months and then launching buying sprees. Furthermore, the weekend’s success was not universal, with discounters like Wal-Mart Stores Inc., expected to achieve the best results, while some analysts described business as uneven at department stores and apparel chains.
“The strong start is very encouraging, but by no means is it reason to celebrate at this point,” said Michael P. Niemira, vice president of Bank of Toyko-Mitsubishi Ltd. “Those that benefited more were the ones that promoted.”
Todd Slater, an analyst at Lazard Freres & Co. said that in the department store sector, he doesn’t think “there are a lot of people doing victory laps.”
In the three-day weekend following Thanksgiving, total U.S. retail sales rose 12.4 percent, compared to the same period a year ago, according to ShopperTrak RCT, which released updated data on Monday.
The three-day weekend totaled $15.9 billion in sales, compared with $14.2 billion spent on those three post-Thanksgiving days in 2001.
ShopperTrak RCT uses data from the U.S. Commerce Department and point-of-sale data from more than 22,000 retail outlets.
By comparison, sales for the same period last year were up 3.4 percent from 2000.
Texas-based Penney said Monday on its weekly prerecorded call that sales over the Thanksgiving weekend were at “record” levels. All apparel and fine jewelry did well, the company said.
Penney also said it was expecting sales at stores open for at least a year, known as same-store sales, for December to be up in the low single digits.
Same-store sales are considered the best measure of a retailer’s health.
Wal-Mart said Saturday that it set a record for one-day sales on Friday, generating $1.43 billion.
Last year, Wal-Mart reported sales of $1.25 billion the day after Thanksgiving. Salter estimates that Wal-Mart’s same-store sales on Friday were up about 7 percent to 8 percent.
Meanwhile, sales for the online category turned out to be robust over the weekend, according to various reports released Monday.
America Online said its members spent approximately $1.09 billion online over the seven days ended Sunday, an increase of 26 percent over the year-ago period.
According to preliminary estimates, four million AOL members made an online purchase last week, spending an average of $269 per shopper.
Meanwhile, according to a report from Goldman Sachs & Co., Harris Interactive and Nielsen/netRatings, 32 percent more consumers shopped online Friday, compared to the day after Thanksgiving a year ago.
The report also said that spending per person increased to nearly $88 during the week ended Nov. 22, surging 22 percent over the previous week, and rising 8 percent as compared to the same period a year ago.
On Thursday, the nation’s retailers will report same-store sales for the month of November, including the Thanksgiving weekend.