Britt Beemer Giving Quotations

With nothing hot to buy in decorations this Christmas, many stores started selling two weeks earlier than ever before, beginning in mid-September. Many stores skipped Thanksgiving altogether and went from Halloween to Christmas.

I see an extremely promotional shopping environment. I've advised my retail clients to be super aggressive Thanksgiving weekend. Retailers don't want to do it from a margin perspective, but otherwise they won't see shoppers in stores. Consumers have less money to spend and they'll take their 'less money' elsewhere.

Retailers had a sales plan for Christmas, stayed with it and then benefited from a very strong January without giving up margins.

These Thanksgiving shopping numbers will be the lowest in a decade,