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NEW YORK -- Shoppers turned up early for holiday sales at U.S. stores Friday, but the annual pilgrimage appeared thinner this year and many consumers vowed to spend less due to a shrinking economy.
Retailers from Wal-Mart Stores Inc to Macy's Inc , Kohl's Corp and Best Buy Co Inc opened their doors in the early hours of "Black Friday," offering steep discounts to scores of shoppers who waited in line.
In the New York City suburb of Valley Stream, a man working at a Wal-Mart died as a throng of shoppers broke down the doors trying to enter a store, police said. Four others were injured and taken to the hospital in what the company called a "tragic" incident.
This holiday weekend will test the strength of consumer sentiment, a main driver of the U.S. economy, as the country faces its worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.
"The recession is kicking in," said Tammy Williams, 36, as she waited before dawn to enter a Kohl's in West Paterson, N.J. "I'm just looking for a bargain, anything to save a couple of dollars. I'll save the rest for food shopping."
Natalie Diaz, 32, plans to spend about one-half of the $2,000 she shelled out last year for Christmas gifts, but said she would not cut down on presents for her twins.
"They won't get it," she said of her children, while shopping at a J.C. Penney in Jersey City on Friday. "Santa does not have a recession."
Many retailers fear a deep recession and mounting job losses will cost them dearly during the period that brings in up to 40% of annual sales. Experts predict this could be the worst holiday shopping season since the early 1990s.
Most stores offer major discounts on Black Friday, the day after the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, hoping to ring in billions of dollars through year's end. Some chains opened during the holiday on Thursday to capture business even earlier.
Marshal Cohen, chief retail analyst with NPD Group, said that early store traffic appeared about 25% lighter than a year ago. People seemed to be more selective about the shops they visited and weren't staying inside stores as long.
Traffic levels and the amount of time spent in stores will be key indicators for retail chains over the next few weeks precisely because the price markdowns are so deep, Mr. Cohen said.
"If I'm selling something at 75% off, I've got to sell twice as much merchandise to make up that difference," he said. "If you don't get a good Black Friday start, you've got an awful lot of ground to make up."
"If I'm selling something at 75% off, I've got to sell twice as much merchandise to make up that difference"
Originally posted by Ian McLean
"If I'm selling something at 75% off, I've got to sell twice as much merchandise to make up that difference"
This statement makes no sense to me. I was trying to figure out what his initial markup percentage must have been, in order for that to be true:
Original price
price1 = cost + markup * cost
profit1 = price1 - cost
Price with 75% discount
price2 = 25% * price1
profit2 = price2 - cost
Statement from the article
profit1 = 2 * profit2
But I couldn't figure a solution that would allow that statement to be true, and the sale to be profitable, ever.
Originally posted by niteboy82
Last year, I don't recall the DJIA being sliced pretty much in half over a period of what? 6 months? We also didn't see oil go from a record of 147 to 50. There was no $700b bailout for companies that royally messed up. Housing markets weren't nearly in such a mess as they are now. Fannie/Freddie weren't being saved and I don't believe that unemployment was as high as this year.
Its your call for your own opinion, of course, but you are seeing this just as "another year" and saying that the MSM is blowing all of this out of proportion and there is nothing wrong with our economy?
[edit on 11/30/08 by niteboy82]
Originally posted by LowLevelMason
This is part of the media's annual attempt to make things look as bad as humanely possible. Every single year, without fail, the media proclaims that this year holiday sales will suck and that things are just going to be horrible out there. They write articles with this propaganda all during November and December.
Originally posted by dgtempe
I am just getting everyone "1" item- $20 limit. With a card that says "I love you"
Originally posted by FlyersFan
Side note - we are spending a LOT LESS this year. So WE are holding back - but shoppers in general don't seem to be. Sales are up.