I think we were already prepared for some of these misses. The key question now is whether this weakness is temporary or does it signal a permanent downdraft in the pace of consumer spending, |
I think we were already prepared for some of these misses. The key question now is whether this weakness is temporary or does it signal a permanent downdraft in the pace of consumer spending. |
I think you have to read between the lines. In September, retailers say things are on- to above-plan, that's reassuring, even with easier comparisons for the industry. The tone will be important, particularly with some of the department stores. If you continue to hear below-plan sales, that would be worrisome. |
If Katrina was simply a devastation of the area, we could have weathered it, ... Because of these ripple effects, Katrina is having a nationwide impact. |
If November sales are good and inventory is under control, that takes some of the sales pressure off in December. |
If there were no sales tax-free holidays, would the situation be any different for consumers? We asked consumers that question in a survey, and 70 percent said a tax-free week didn't affect their shopping. |
If we use 2 percentage points for the overall expected effect from the calendar shift, that's still a pretty weak reading, a 1.9 percent trend. That's not strong at all. I guess what you can say is it's certainly consistent with the sluggish pace we've seen. |
Increasingly, retailers view this period as 'Phase Two' of the season when fresh merchandise is needed to attract the consumer. |
Increasingly, the post-Thanksgiving week dip has become a 'standard' part of the holiday shopping season. |
Increasingly, the post-Thanksgiving week dip has become a 'standard' part of the holiday shopping season. Although the latest week's decline was not encouraging, it was not necessarily worrisome as only nine percent of households have completed their holiday shopping. |
Is it enough to say this season could be more than OK? That's still an open question. |
It looks like an echo of the Katrina effect. |
It looks like that number is tracking at 6.8 percent, slightly higher than what we expected, ... We did expect it would be a lot stronger but sales got pinched at the end of the month because of cooler temperatures in some parts of the country. |
It seems clear that the mild pullback in consumer spending over the last week was due in part to the war beginning in the middle of a week, as well as the fact that the effects of the war have been built into the retail trend for the past month or so. |
It seems more and more the temporary pause in spending in March was just a pause. |