The consumer is still very cautious. |
The consumer is still very cautious. There was underlying softness in November. It increases the worry about the holiday as a whole. |
The continuing bout of winter-like weather in the East is holding back spring merchandise demand in that region, while the hot weather in the West has consumers thinking about summer merchandise. |
The cool start to the season has been a problem for retail sales, ... but escalating energy prices are something that both consumers and retailers have to incur. |
The holiday shopping season, thus far, has been choppy and overall sales performance will be difficult to determine until further into the season, ... We should get a clearer picture of retail performance following the Saturday before Christmas, which is typically one of the largest retail shopping days of the year. |
The last-minute rush by consumers may have come too late. I think the season overall was uneven. |
The message may be that the finish to the holiday season was very good. However, Wal-Mart's monthly sales growth seen together is still on the weak side, |
The message may be that the finish to the holiday season was very good. However, Wal-Mart's monthly sales growth seen together is still on the weak side. |
The other thing is that as retailers move into a period of tougher comparisons in the second half of the year, it will be difficult for them to maintain the same pace of sales growth that they've enjoyed in the first half. |
The overall story is one of continued strength of the consumer but there are a couple of underlying stories here too. |
The promotional activity is better than last year. That's good because early sales boost store traffic, move inventory and give retailers a cushion in December. |
The public face is we're happy, we're happy. But the reality is it is a moderate pace. It was a season that still has a way to go because of the rise of the gift card. |
The results for this past week reflect the fallout of Hurricane Katrina as national sales were held back by about one percentage point as stores were closed in the path of the hurricane. |
The risk to retailers is moderate right now because the [gas] price increases are hurting consumers more at the low-income spectrum. But these are also consumers who shop more frequently at discount stores like Wal-Mart. |
The strength was largely driven by promotions and did not provide as strong of a start to the holiday season as some retailers would have liked. |