November 30, 2004

Midwest Christmas Shopping

In Milwaukee and the Midwest Black Friday's shopping was brisk but it tailed off on Saturday and Sunday. A manager of a Milwaukee mall said, "Saturday was pretty flat, or down." In the story we may have an explanation for Wal-Mart's lackluster November:

While retailers Boston Store, J.C. Penney and Sears, Roebuck & Co. drew crowds on Friday for early-bird deals on jewelry, toys, tools and electronics, some discounters didn't fare as well.

Wal-Mart was the big loser, after cutting back on early-bird deals. Wal-Mart said it took a "more balanced" approach to discounts on the day after Thanksgiving. Store traffic declined at the week's end, the retailer said on Saturday.

Also "books, music and video games" were the items of choice this weekend. I would argue that Wal-Mart is only really strong in the video game market. They just don't have the selection of books and music like a Barnes & Noble or Best Buy respectively have. Instead of an income effect, shoppers so far just aren't into what Wal-Mart's selling.

"Shoppers' Pace Slowed on Weekend"