Posted on: Tuesday, December 23, 2003
Stores say holiday sales weaker than expected
By Anne D'Innocenzio
Associated Press
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| Holiday shoppers searched out deals yesterday at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn. Many retailers reported lower-than-expected sales so far this year.
Associated Press |
Now, the nation's merchants are once again turning to the final days before Christmas and post-holiday sales — expected to be boosted by the redemption of gift cards — to recoup lost business.
Stores were hoping for a big sales bonanza during the last weekend before Christmas, after experiencing two consecutive weekends of snow in the Northeast. Some stores also struggled with slow sales last week, analysts said.
"Traffic was heavy, but not overwhelming," said Marshal Cohen, senior industry analyst at NPD Inc., a market research firm in Port Washington, N.Y.
Wal-Mart announced yesterday that even though sales showed "some improvement" over the weekend, December same-store sales growth was still tracking at the low end of its projected 3 percent to 5 percent range.
Target Corp. said late yesterday that December same-store sales for last week and the month for both the corporation and its namesake discount division are tracking below its projections.
