Black Friday sales gain seen as a one-time gift
Bargain-hungry consumers gave the nation’s retailers a much-needed early holiday boost with surprisingly healthy sales on Black Friday that tapered off Saturday and Sunday.
“It was a retail manager’s dream,” said Marissa Marks, store manager at the Beverly Center’s L’Occitane boutique, which saw Black Friday sales double to $4,000 from last year. But, she added Sunday, “yesterday and today are not so good.”
Analysts and retailers alike noted packed shopping centers and larger-than-expected crowds.
Nationwide, more than 172 million shoppers visited stores and websites over the four-day weekend, up from 147 million last year, the National Retail Federation said Sunday.
More deals come today as online merchants roll out Web-only specials and free shipping offers on what they call Cyber Monday.
But analysts expressed doubts that a healthy Black Friday signaled a turnaround for the nation’s beleaguered retailers. Many called it a one-time wonder, a bright note in what is expected to be one of the bleakest holiday shopping seasons in decades.
“In the past, if you did well on Black Friday, the retailer knew they would do well the rest of the season,” said Jackie Fernandez, a retail partner at Deloitte & Touche. “I don’t think that is the same kind of comparison this year.”
Desperate for a strong day of sales, retailers took no chances on Black Friday and opened their stores earlier, slashed prices even further and offered discounts on entire purchases. And that was after weeks of already steep promotions designed to attract wary shoppers.
