With poor earnings reports combining with less than confident consumers, America's retailers are looking at maybe one of the slowest holiday seasons in quite some time.
As Black Friday looms closer and closer, most retailers across the nation are simply holding their collective breath. It does appear as if early reports point to an extremely disappointing Black Friday and a lackluster holiday sales season as well. Many of the nation’s leading retailers have already reported disappointing sales but this week should tell the tale even further when the likes of WalMart, Best Buy, and Target report their latest earnings.
Major retailers like the Gap, Nordstrom’s, and Macy’s all reported less than stellar earnings this week. Only JC Penny showed an uptick in sales but the company still continues to bleed money. Kohl’s was the bright spot, but that was mainly due to a busier than normal back to school season for them, reports CNN.
It also didn’t help anyone this week that the Commerce Department reported that retail sales fell across the board for everyone in October. As for this week’s earnings reports, WalMart has already warned everyone that their numbers are going to be much weaker than expected. The Arkansas-based retail giant is also not predicting that hardy of a holiday season.
Target looks to continue to lose sales and market share and they keep closing stores. Best Buy looks to be rallying but sales continue to be slow. In addition, others reporting recent earnings next week will be Dillard’s, Williams-Sonoma, Ross Stores, L Brands, and Abercrombie & Fitch. Also, the two big home improvement retailers, Lowe’s and Home Depot, will report next week.
According to some recent marketing research, almost half of all of the consumers polled expect to spend much less money this holiday season while just 24 percent said they would spend about the same amount as they always do. About 13 percent of the consumers polled said they didn’t participate in Black Friday and had all intentions of doing so again this year.
