Britt Beemer
Britt Beemer
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This summer, the consumer was cautious, with all the uncertainty going on in the country. But almost all of those worries are gone, and that is good news at the start of the holiday season.
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Retail sales were pretty good, considering at the start of the season we were looking at $3 gasoline and were still recovering from the hurricanes. Consumers got out early and responded to early-bird specials, but there wasn't much new. There was no hot toy or hot apparel look.
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Starting in the late 1980s, employees and prospective employees in the retail sector stopped looking at retail as a career opportunity. They look at it as a temporary stopover until something better comes along. When this happens, everybody loses -- employees, customers, stores, etc.
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Electronics is particularly hot cause there is nothing else that has created much excitement for consumers. Our research indicates that 44 percent of shoppers have completed their holiday shopping and about 20 percent still have to start it. This weekend we think more dollars will be spent overall. Apparel sales could benefit form colder weather but watch out for electronics to come out on top again.
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The trouble today with retailers is they can't afford to have too many underperforming stores. When 10 percent of your stores are unprofitable, you will start losing money. That wasn't the case years ago.
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There are a number of consumers I've talked to who have given money to hurricane funds in lieu of gifts. Last year luxury retail was the grand slam .... If this shopper cuts back, it will send Wall Street into a spin.
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There are a lot of wealthy income consumers that have given a lot of money to hurricane funds, and they're saying they're doing that in lieu of Christmas gifts,
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When clothing styles went flat for a few years, people no longer had a reason to shop at department stores.
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To a great extent, the brand has become a non-brand. It has not been nurtured or built upon for the last few years. They won't necessarily save money, but they'll consolidate their advertising dollars to a limited number of brands and do it better.
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At this point in the buying season, parents have only spent $71.96 so far, so there is time for stores to get aggressive and drive more sales,
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What's happens is retailers become known for certain things. You want to be known for some product category. You want to be known for a return policy.
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The really good ones have developed some sort of product niche, whether they are the place to go to get the latest and greatest cook or travel books. They've developed a niche that makes them really unique.
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One in five people are being impacted by all these advertising lawyers on television, telling Americans it's not a problem.
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Only a month ago, I felt we could see the first negative selling season in over 20 years, but the drop in gas prices has given consumers a newfound shopping spirit that should sustain them throughout the month of December.