Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Retailers try to woo shoppers in final holiday push
NEW YORK — Stores are pushing deals and incentives like free shipping for the final week of the holiday shopping season, as new numbers show people are so far spending at a bit of a slower pace than last year.
Retailers pared down their inventories and offered more exclusive merchandise in a bid to avoid having to offer big discounts that shoppers have come to expect.
But customers seem willing to wait, and so stores are once again counting on lastminute buyers for the final stretch, particularly Saturday, which could be the busiest day of the year.
“This has really become a game of chicken. In that game of chicken, retailers once again were the ones who flinched,” said Joseph Schmitt, director at the retail consulting firm AlixPartners.
Retail spending is up 2 percent, slightly slower the 2.4 percent gain at this time last year, with the rate of online spending far outpacing buying at physical stores from Oct. 29 through Monday, according to First Data.
The firm analyzed online and in-store payments from nearly a million merchants. The data captures about 40 percent of all card transactions in the U.S. but excludes cash.
Online sales growth was up 9 percent, while spending at physical stores was up a mere 0.1 percent. At the mid-season point, e-commerce made up about 22 percent of retail spending, up from 16 percent in 2015. Overall, the average dollar amount spent per person for the 45-day period was $70.28, up slightly from last year’s $69.34.
“It’s pretty decent growth, but the average shopper is moving online,” says Rishi Chhabra, vice president for information and analytics at First Data.
Four of the seven categories First Data tracks showed sales growth this season: building materials, electronics and appliances, furniture and home furnishings and health and personal care. General merchandise stores suffered the biggest sales drop — 2.8 percent — because of deep discounts as well as less foot traffic. Within that category, department stores took the biggest hit, with overall sales down 8.8 percent.