It's Back to Work–and Back to Shopping
Don't panic, but the typical consumer has already finished nearly 40 percent of his or her Christmas shopping. And the stocking will get a lot fuller today–so-called Cyber-Monday–as an estimated 61 million Americans go online to rack up more booty, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation. Many of those Web buyers will be shopping from their desks, at work. Long lunch, anyone?
Today's online sales should be healthy, if the weekend shopping spree is any indication. The NRF says the average holiday shopper spent about $360 over the weekend, an 18.9 percent boost from last year. But that spike came largely from intensified post-Thanksgiving promotions on items such as flat-screen TVs, laptops, and DVD players. Cyber-retailers like Bestbuy.com and Circuitcity.com are offering their own come-ons early this week, with two-day sales and free shipping.
After today, however, holiday spending should moderate, except for goods like books and toys, which tend to gain momentum closer to Christmas. Overall, the NRF expects just a 5 percent increase in spending from last year.
If consumer behavior seemed a bit manic during the weekend, well, thank the retailers. Big-box stores relied more heavily than usual on "doorbuster" specials, available only to the first few customers through the door, and other tempting giveaways. Here are a few snapshots of how consumers shopped over the weekend:
— More than 36 percent of shoppers on Black Friday–the day after Thanksgiving–got to their first store before sunrise.
— Men showed remarkable patience–17.3 percent of them got to their first store by 4 a.m. Only 8 percent of women were that hungry for deals. But men typically got the goods they were hunting for–then went back to bed. Women browsed longer.
— Men outspent women by 38 percent ($420 for men, $304 for women), mainly because they bought more big-ticket electronics. Women bought more clothes and home furnishings.
— Discounters like Wal-Mart and Target lost traffic. Last year, they drew 61 percent of Black Friday foot traffic. This year, it fell to just 50 percent. Department stores and clothing and toy stores made up the difference.
Wal-Mart had hinted at a disappointing holiday season on Saturday, when it predicted same-store sales would fall slightly in November. But analysts say that has more to do with shallow promotions than a gloomy consumer mood. "We noticed ... a slowdown in traffic once the early-bird specials ran their course," reported Merrill Lynch retail analyst Danielle Fox. Shoppers probably had to dash off to other time-sensitive specials.