Britt Beemer Weekend Quotations

Overall, the moderate-priced stores such as J.C. Penney, Sears and Wal-Mart had good traffic levels. We think luxury sales were probably flat this past weekend because more people said they decided to go away on vacation before Christmas this year than last year. So this could have impacted spending on other high-end items.

Electronics is particularly hot cause there is nothing else that has created much excitement for consumers. Our research indicates that 44 percent of shoppers have completed their holiday shopping and about 20 percent still have to start it. This weekend we think more dollars will be spent overall. Apparel sales could benefit form colder weather but watch out for electronics to come out on top again.

The toy category continues to struggle. Our survey shows that this year 33.5 percent of weekend shoppers said they bought toys compared with 37.5 percent last year. The big surprise was electronics, which came in flat with last year at 19.7 percent. One reason for this could be that people simply couldn't find what they were looking for.

The toy category continues to struggle, ... Our survey shows that this year 33.5 percent of weekend shoppers said they bought toys compared with 37.5 percent last year. The big surprise was electronics, which came in flat with last year at 19.7 percent. One reason for this could be that people simply couldn't find what they were looking for.