Even With the economy in a tailspin the cash registers were ringing at Retail stores around the country during the 3-day weekend following Thanksgiving. It started with a bang on Black Friday (and really, who doesn't think of the old Steely Dan song when that is mentioned) and shoppers continued to spend on Saturday and Sunday, too. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF) 172 million shoppers hit stores over the holiday weekend, up 17% from '07, they spent 7% more than last year, and the total take for retailers was in the $41 Billion range. After watching all those crazy (passionate?) people stand in line at 4am in White Plains on Friday to get into Kohl's, Wal Mart and other stores I'm not all that surprised by these figures. No doubt HUGE $$ discounts in merchandise may have had something to do with the numbers. Big question: are retailers sacrificing profits for sales? We'll see when Q1 earnings reports come out.
Cyber Monday (a term the NRF coined back in '05) was a hit for online retailers, too. Early results show that shoppers spent nearly 30% more compared to last year and that conversion rates rose, too. Full disclosure...I did ALL my holiday shopping online yesterday. Haven't purchased one item in a store this season and hoping that I won't need to.
