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[Ripclawe]

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=businessNews&storyID=6954760

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) , the No. 1 U.S. retailer, on Tuesday signaled it will cut prices in the weeks before Christmas after a strategy against deep discounts backfired on the first weekend of the holiday shopping season. The retailer said it had taken a "more balanced" approach to discounting than in previous years on the day after Thanksgiving -- known as Black Friday, as it used to be the day that retailers moved into profit -- but this dampened sales.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/11/30/BUGFGA3H1J1.DTL

Meanwhile, predictions remain overwhelmingly rosy for online holiday sales as more and more shoppers click for their purchases.

On Monday, Internet-security firm VeriSign said that its research showed an 18 percent increase in the volume of online purchases over the holiday weekend, to 9.7 million transactions. The value of those purchases jumped nearly 20 percent, to $73 million from $60.9 million last year, VeriSign said Monday.

The firm handles roughly 35 percent of electronic-commerce transactions in North America.

The National Retail Federation, a trade group, said Sunday that 133 million people shopped in retail outlets during the weekend, unloading $22.8 billion on purchases, or about $265 per person.

That weekend figure accounts for more than 10 percent of the $220 billion in sales that the federation expects retailers to attract by the end of December. Based on the weekend, the group maintained its forecast of a 4.5 percent year-over-year increase in seasonal spending.

Visa, issuer of the nation's most widely carried credit cards, said Monday that spending with its cards for the week ended Sunday jumped 15 percent from a year ago, to $22.6 billion.


Smith Barney retail analyst Deborah Weinswig called out early seasonal winners as sellers of women's apparel, consumer electronics, toys and jewelry, among others. At the same time, she said in a research note, gift cards once again have a growing fan club. Weinswig expects gift-card sales to increase 30 percent this holiday from a year ago.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/printstory.mpl/business/2924337

"I think the start was very mixed," said Howard Davidowitz, chairman of Davidowitz & Associates, a national retail consulting and investment banking firm in New York.

Some retail segments did a booming business, including luxury, electronics, online retail, certain specialty apparel chains and department stores like Sears and J.C. Penney that had early bird specials.

However, discounters didn't perform well. For example, retail giant Wal-Mart and dollar stores had disappointing sales, he said.

For retailers, the start of the holiday shopping season was "tough for the masses — great for the classes," Davidowitz said. "It's a tale of two cities."

The well-to-do have money to burn, he said, while a family of four with a $40,000 income is "pressed tremendously" because of rising gas prices and health care costs.

Retailers that offered door-buster sales fared well over the weekend.

"Wal-Mart didn't promote and didn't win," said Marshall Cohen, chief analyst at the NPD Group. "But I'm not worried about Wal-Mart. They'll be fine. They've got a lot of money in the bank. Do they want to dilute it with deep discounts? They probably will at some point.In fact, don't be surprised if they start this coming weekend."

 

[Phoenix]

Black Friday is just one day. I expect stores that didn't fare well to kick it up a notch over the next two weeks.

 

[RobotChant]

I wonder how Best Buy did.

The bulk of what many retailers were offering during Black Friday were cheap DVDs. Not worth getting up early for that.

 

[DarienA]

I wonder how Best Buy did.

The bulk of what many retailers were offering during Black Friday were cheap DVDs. Not worth getting up early for that.

http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/business/10299044.htm?1c

But Twin Cities-based Target Corp. and Best Buy Co. appear to have emerged from Thanksgiving weekend — the traditional start of the holiday shopping season — in good shape, analysts said Monday.

"We think Target was one of the strong performers over the weekend,'' said Lehman Bros. analyst Robert Drbul.

Alan Rifkin, another Lehman analyst, noted Best Buy is riding a wave of hot consumer electronics and must-have holiday gifts this season, which should spur its sales and help the retailer offset the pinch of higher energy costs.

 

[Doth Togo]

Fuck consumerism. I didn't buy anything for anyone nor am I getting anyone any holiday gifts. I've told everyone in advance that they need not reciprocate to me either. Most of my friends/family understand and aren't disappointed.

I want people to realize, at least within my realm of folks that I know, that buying gifts for each other means very little. Instead, it's more important to spend time with each other and appreciate the company of loved ones and friends. (Thanksgiving is much more meaningful to me than Christmas or Easter.)

Haters, feel free to rail away on my point.

 

[Azih]

Fuck consumerism. I didn't buy anything for anyone nor am I getting anyone any holiday gifts. I've told everyone in advance that they need not reciprocate to me either. Most of my friends/family understand and aren't disappointed.

I want people to realize, at least within my realm of folks that I know, that buying gifts for each other means very little. Instead, it's more important to spend time with each other and appreciate the company of loved ones and friends. (Thanksgiving is much more meaningful to me than Christmas or Easter.)

Haters, feel free to rail away on my point.

You could draw them a nice card, or donate to charity in their name or somesuchshit.

The 'Human Fund' comes to mind.

 

[karasu]

Fuck consumerism. I didn't buy anything for anyone nor am I getting anyone any holiday gifts. I've told everyone in advance that they need not reciprocate to me either. Most of my friends/family understand and aren't disappointed.

I want people to realize, at least within my realm of folks that I know, that buying gifts for each other means very little. Instead, it's more important to spend time with each other and appreciate the company of loved ones and friends. (Thanksgiving is much more meaningful to me than Christmas or Easter.)

Haters, feel free to rail away on my point.

Can't you like , do both? When else do you go around and buy random nice shit for people? It really isn't a matter of this or that.

 

[Doth Togo]

You could draw them a nice card, or donate to charity in their name or somesuchshit.

The 'Human Fund' comes to mind.

Agreed.

 

[explodet]

Haters, feel free to rail away on my point.

Not railing, just on a related note, some people in Portland tried to put "Buy Nothing Day" on Black Friday.

Needless to say, it didn't go over very well.

 

[sonatinas]

Who wants to buy that Durabrand junk, and not to mention Wal Marts are depressing.

 

[Christoff Yurievich]

Not railing, just on a related note, some people in Portland tried to put "Buy Nothing Day" on Black Friday.

Needless to say, it didn't go over very well.

where do you live to have heard about that?

 

[impirius]

I plan on getting someone a Seinfeld DVD set and have the card on top of the gift say that I donated the price of the set to the Human Fund.