Americans see‘a lot quieter’Black Friday
NEW YORK/RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA—Shoppers took to stores across the world on a Black Friday that appeared subdued compared with previous years, looking for discounted electronics, clothing and household goods in the kickoff to the holiday shopping season crucial to big retailers.
Brokerage TD Cowen lowered its US holiday spending estimate to 2 percent to 3 percent growth, from 4 percent to 5 percent, as it forecast flat Black Friday traffic. Discounts in October and November removed the excitement and urgency of Black Friday.
With many consumers squeezed by persistent inflation and high interest rates, US holiday spending is expected to rise at the slowest pace in five years.
Most major retailers slashed their seasonal hiring. Retailers will likely continue to discount throughout the season to avoid inventory gluts at yearend.
Value conscious
Caution from shoppers—coupled with a strong quarterly performance from discount retailers like Target and Ross Stores—show lingering concern over inflation and a higher cost of living even as fears of a recession recede.
“People are more value conscious,” said Barbara Kahn, a professor at The Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania.
“It’s a lot quieter this year, a lot quieter,” said shopper Theresa Forsberg. In Paramus, New Jersey, crowds at the Garden State Plaza mall were thinner than prior years, according to Michael Brown of consulting firm Kearney.
“It wasn’t the good, old-fashioned kick-the-doors-down-type” shopping event this year, he said. —REUTERS
