Holiday sales fall short of expectations,
set stage for tougher 2023 for retailers
CNBC,
by
Melissa Repko
Original Article
Posted By: NorthernDog,
1/18/2023 1:44:38 PM
Holiday sales came in below industry expectations, as shoppers felt pinched by inflation and rising interest rates, according to data from the National Retail Federation. Sales during November and December grew 5.3% year over year to $936.3 billion, below the major trade group’s prediction for growth of between 6% and 8% over the year prior. In early November, NRF had projected spending of between $942.6 billion and $960.4 billion. (Snip) The holiday sales gains include the impact of inflation, which drives up total sales. The consumer price index, which measures the cost of a broad mix of goods and services
Reply 1 - Posted by:
formerNYer 1/18/2023 2:59:05 PM (No. 1381728)
More layoffs to come and more retailers filing for bankruptcy thanks to the crap for brains chief!
20 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
zephyrgirl 1/18/2023 3:12:53 PM (No. 1381741)
Layoffs, falling housing prices, higher prices, skyrocketing credit card debt. The next few years won't be pretty.
20 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
LC Chihuahua 1/18/2023 3:37:49 PM (No. 1381755)
A very special holiday present from our very own F Joe Biden.
13 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
janjan 1/18/2023 9:07:22 PM (No. 1381877)
Retail if failing because eCommerce is exploding. Say what you want about Amazon but they are very good at what they do.
10 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
mifla 1/19/2023 5:02:01 AM (No. 1382010)
"All is well, all is well." - Biden Administration
4 people like this.
I submit another more basic reason: there's nothing to buy.
Shelves are empty due to the so-called supply chain problem which, in reality, is fallout from insane, unlawful, anticonstitutional covid policy from vax requirements to lockdowns to 'essential business' nonsense. And, crucially, the chip shortage/embargo which continues unabated no matter how many cutesy acronyms are churned out of DC.
Retailers have made a rod for their own back by reducing inventory and variety. They moan that Amazon is undercutting them on price or they can't compete with Amazon's selection but, on the other hand, they don't seem to try very hard. Walmart has the same products as Best Buy as Target etc.
Bed Bath & Beyond is a case study in going political and thinking - or hoping that people won't notice. In either case, their management took them down the DEI drain.
Demand for new cars may dip with the economy but Toyota is the biggest and best example of the supply/chip problem as dealer lots sit almost empty for months on end.
The market is more or less saturated now - with phones, tablets, computers, game consoles ie anybody who wants one already has one. There are replacement/upgrade transactions but the marginal benefit is low and people are saying so.
Finally, there is a sort of group consciousness about the cheap Chinese tat that has been foisted on consumers for 10-15 years. Clothes made by Chinese peasants are one thing but clothes that make you look like a Chinese peasant are something else. 'Luxury' brands still look like sackcloth. Tools that appear to be a good deal aren't - they are underpowered, have design flaws, break easily. Warranties have been quietly fiddled to reduce their coverage timespan. New models are trotted out - which only means you can't find parts for your old or get a full replacement (see also: appliances).
People who didn't live through the bad old days of the 70s - culturally, economically, politically - are determined to revive the Carter years in all their awfulness. There isn't even fantastic new music as there was in, say, 1979. When the Bidens' first photo op was with Jimmy and Roslyn everyone should have taken the hint.
9 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
Lawsy0 1/19/2023 9:58:12 AM (No. 1382198)
Eff Zhou Bydun.
6 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
Zigrid 1/19/2023 11:25:52 AM (No. 1382324)
Democrats know nothing about running a country...they only know how to cheat and steal....look at California ..it's a nightmare and now they are putting up wind turbines in Idaho to sent energy to California because china doesn't want the harbors blocked from their deliveries of marginal goods...on a personal note...I had an American made Matag washer for 35 years...but my daughter had to scrap her washing machine from china in 3 years....chi/com products don't meet our standards and nothing the government says can change that...
9 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
Hugh Akston 1/19/2023 12:53:44 PM (No. 1382439)
#6 states - I submit another more basic reason: there's nothing to buy.
The corollary to that from my perspective, and I bet many others, is - I don't really need to buy anything. Other than day to day expenses - food, gas, utilities, medical, routine vehicle maintenance, whatever - I really don't have any 'thing' on my shopping list. My entire clothing expenses for the coming year will probably be one pair of shoes and 2 pairs of shorts, because I have enough of everything else in my closets already.
4 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
Strike3 1/19/2023 2:57:10 PM (No. 1382532)
If the woke retailers had not donated so many millions of dollars to the underprivileged, underserved and victims of white privilege, they would have enough money to give the rest of us a little break.
3 people like this.
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Comments:
Sales numbers are artificially inflated due to Biden's price increases. In reality, retailers lost ground.