Dec 4, 2010
Retail sales jump 6% in NovemberBy Andrea ChangLATimes.com

Lured by steep discounts, shoppers stormed the nation’s retailers in November — but to keep the momentum going, analysts say, merchants will need to keep pushing discounts.

“Given that there’s one less shopping weekend in December, retailers are going to have to be very aggressive to generate demand and get the consumers out there shopping either in the store or online,” said Laura Gurski, a partner in the retail practice at A.T. Kearney, a management consulting firm.

The 6% surge in spending was another sign of growing consumer confidence. And unlike the last two years, when frugal consumers shopped mainly for discounts, retailers reported that sales were strong throughout the month, with shoppers picking up more discretionary items, splurging on themselves and more willing to pay full price.

The results surprised analysts who had predicted a modest, 3.6% rise. They attributed the gains to earlier-than-ever holiday promotions, improving economic conditions and pent-up demand by consumers.

“I plan to spend more because I did pretty well this year,” Mario Calito, 32, an aerospace engineer, said as he shopped for a laptop computer and Blu-ray movies at a Best Buy in Burbank recently. “I’m very optimistic for 2011.”

Retail experts say a good holiday season could speed up the nation’s tepid recovery because consumer spending accounts for nearly 70% of U.S. economic activity.

A strong start to the holidays doesn’t always lead to a successful season, however, and retail analysts note that things could still unravel. In 2008, for example, healthy Thanksgiving weekend sales weren’t enough to save retailers from a rough December and the worst holiday season in more than four decades.

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