Bargain Hunting Consumers Shopped Less on Pre-Christmas Weekend

Many retailers got disappointed during the pre-Christmas weekend with the low turnout of shoppers who would usually hunt for bargains at this time of the year. Despite the huge discounts on primary items, people have not been generous with their spending. Nonetheless, this is taken as a sign that they will do more purchases after Christmas day to catch even better prices as the year comes to an end.

Decline in store visits

According to RetailNext, a statistics firm, retail proceeds this year dropped by 4% on the past weekend in many stores as compared to the same shopping period in the previous year. However the figures exclude online transactions, which have become trendy these days. Store visits this year relatively fell when compared to last holiday season but by year-end, more consumers are expected to queue up again for better deals. As observed by Charles O’Shea, Moody’s Investors Service senior analyst, shoppers will wait to the last minute when price offers are at their lowest. Based on previous sales index in 2012, analysts found this holiday season trading to be the most aggressive, causing sellers to boost their promotions to keep up with competitors. Traditionally, Christmas season rakes in 30% of annual sales and 40% of revenues for most traders.

Pre-Christmas promotions

According to Market Track, a known analytics firm, major establishments customarily boost their promotions on the first week of December following the Thanksgiving and Black Friday sales upgrade. This strategy is aimed to coincide with the consumers’ early shopping action plan to avoid the holiday rush toward the mid part of the month. Notably this year, around 85% of all commodities in apparel stores were put on discount prices this past weekend whereas only 75% discount goods were offered last year. But regardless the tempting offers, sales went down by 2.1% on the days when they were supposed to peak.

Waiting for maxed out bargains

One shopper last Sunday at J.C. Penney Co. in New York expressed her view on the current shopping trend this Christmas season. Katrina Attis, a shopper with limited budget, said that she puts her immediate family’s needs ahead when doing her pre-Christmas purchases. She also said that her shopping schedule for herself and other family members is set on the week after Christmas when stores give bigger discounts in annual clearance sales.

Consumers who regularly check on stores, have observed that there are bigger discounts this season especially in clothing stores. Abercrombie & Fitch and Aeropostale Inc., which are rivals in the trade, have significantly lowered their prices up to 70% cut, yet many people just did not dig in. On the other hand, the most benefited are retailers of electronic gadgets, with Microsoft’s Xbox One video game console and Sony’s PlayStation 4 topping the sales charts this season.

Better than predicted

Some retailers remain optimistic about their sales notwithstanding the fact that less people took a binge on the past weekend. The general manager of a big shopping mall in Mesquite, Texas, Chad Hastings, observed that sales in department stores like Macy’s, Dillard’s, Sears and J.C. Penney are remarkably better than predicted. Meanwhile in Canada, store time in shopping centers such as Target and Sears has been extended, allowing shoppers who were not able to do their purchases during the ice storm to round up their shopping lists.

Photo Credit: Macy’s Department Store