Christmas shoppers this year are expected to shop with a little more glee compared with last year’s gloomy holiday sales season, but Halloween sales are slated to plummet as shoppers spend an estimated 15.4% less than last year, according to two separate studies by the International Council of Shopping Centers and National Retail Federation.
Last year’s holiday season was the worst in four decades despite aggressive price cuts, but sales are expected to increase 1% this year at major U.S. chain stores that have been open for at least 1 year. Retailers are scaling back inventory and many are reducing the number of seasonal employees to save on costs.
For those looking for seasonal work, that’s bad news because 40% of retailers said they would hire between 5% and 25% fewer workers this holiday, and 62% said they’ve already been swamped with more applications this year than last year.
As for the quickly approaching Halloween season, shoppers are expected to spend an estimated $56.31, down from $66.54 last year. One-third of the consumers surveyed said the economy was going to affect their Halloween celebrations, and of those, 88% said they would spend less overall, 46.5% said they plan to purchase less candy, 5.3% said they won’t hand out candy at all, and 16.8% will nurture their creative side by making their own costumes.
Cash-strapped families adjusting to lower incomes and job losses will undoubtedly be scouring shelves for the best deals, so retailers are expected to offer bargains throughout the season.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-holiday-sales29-2009sep29,0,2658332.story?track=rss
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