by Lauren Coleman-Lochner
(Bloomberg) — More consumers went shopping over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, yet spent less than last year as they hunted for bargains on toys and electronics, according to the National Retail Federation.
Spending at stores and on Web sites from Nov. 26 to Nov. 29 rose 0.5% to an estimated $41.2 billion from $41 billion a year earlier, the Washington-based trade group said Nov. 29, citing a survey conducted by polling firm BIGresearch. The higher turnout and lower average spending were in line with expectations, the NRF said. The group is sticking to a forecast for a 1% drop in spending this holiday season.
Price cuts on small appliances, toys, and winter clothes helped bring shoppers into chains including Macy's (M), J.C. Penney (JCP), and Wal-Mart Stores (WMT). On so-called Cyber Monday, 96.5 million people plan to shop on the Internet to take advantage of limited-time offers and free shipping, according to the NRF. That would be a 14% increase from 2008.
"There's still a lot of work to be done by the retailers," said Adrienne Tennant, a retail analyst at FBR Capital Markets (FBCM) in Arlington, Va. "Value is number one."
Thirteen percent more shoppers visited at least one department store this year, the NRF said. Internet spending on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, rose 11% from a year ago, to $595 million, ComScore (SCOR), a Reston (Va.)-based research firm, said Sunday in a statement.
Target (TGT), the second-biggest U.S. discount chain after Bentonville (Ark.)-based Wal-Mart, for the first time this year advertised an online-only sale on Thanksgiving. J.C. Penney, the third-largest U.S. department-store company, started Cyber Monday specials a day earlier this year.
Amazon.com (AMZN), based in Seattle, is the largest online retailer and plans a series of "lightning deals" for limited time periods on Nov. 30.
The average shopper spent $343.31 in stores and online over the holiday weekend, less than $372.57 a year ago, the NRF said. The number of shoppers rose to 195 million from 172 million a year earlier, according to the NRF. The group is the world's largest trade association, according to its Web site.
"Shoppers proved this weekend that they were willing to open their wallets for a bargain," said Tracy Mullin, NRF's president and chief executive officer, in a statement. "While retailers are encouraged by the number of Americans who shopped over Black Friday weekend, they know they have their work cut out for them to keep people coming back through Christmas."
Average spending declined as prices for flat-screen televisions dropped and retailers offered a greater number of items at unprofitable prices to lure shoppers, Scott Krugman, a spokesman for the NRF, said on a Sunday conference call.
Vee Weaver, a certified nurse's aide from Atlanta, bought a set of knives, a red shirt, and a purse at Macy's and J.C. Penney after she was persuaded by a friend to shop on Black Friday.
"I have a job and I've saved all year," Weaver, 65, said at The Shops at Wiregrass, an outdoor shopping mall near Tampa, Fla.
Post a comment about this story in Reader Discussion…
Track and share business topics across the Web.
RSS Feed: Most Read Stories
RSS Feed: Most E-mailed Stories
RSS Feed: Most Discussed Stories
About Advertising EDGE Programs Reprints McGraw Hill Careers Terms of Use Disclaimer Privacy Notice Ethics Code Contact Us Site Map Press Room
Copyright 2000-2009 by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.
McGraw-Hill Education Standard & Poor's BusinessWeek Platts McGraw-Hill Construction AviationWeek McGraw-Hill Broadcasting J.D. Power
Read Full Article »