Strong Black Friday sales up a surprisingly 3.0 Percent compared to 2007.

Not all bad News, nov 30th. Strong Black Friday sales up a surprisingly 3.0 Percent compared to 2007.
Retailers have to slash prices and offer huge discounts.
News from ShopperTrak RCT Corp., a Chicago-based research firm that tracks sales at more than 50,000 retail outlets. Black Friday sales are not always the best indicator for the rest of the Christmas shopping season but give reason for some cautious optimism early in the season this time.


29 Nov RETAILERS FACE MELTDOWN AS CHRISTMAS NEARS
The economic bloodbath that has impacted all sectors of the American economy hit retailers hard during the last month, just as they were gearing up for the make-or-break Christmas selling season.
Of the 26 retail categories surveyed by America’s Research Group for our Consumer Mind Reader™ survey, only three saw increases over last year’s shopping levels.
Discount stores enjoyed consumer spending levels rising from $195.80 last year to $203.95 in this survey. Consumers also spent more at national department stores and hardware stores.
Categories that were especially hard-hit by the recessionary habits included apparel stores, catalog sales, and toy and jewelry retailers. Even the Internet, which had remained steady and even showed some growth, was not immune to the economic woes. Web shopping levels declined steeply, from $46.22 a year ago to $27.73 in this survey.

Stores court shoppers on Black Friday

Stores court shoppers on Black Friday

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shoppers turned up early for holiday sales at stores on 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.
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 percent lighter than a year ago. People seemed to be more selective about the shops they visited and weren't staying inside stores as long.

CNBC Video-Black Friday Retail Outlook
An outlook on the holiday shopping season, with Gerald Storch, Toys R Us chairman/CEO and Dana Telsey, Telsey Advisory Group