Last-Minute Shoppers, Discounts Boost Retail Sales

U.S. retail sales made up for a weak early holiday season with a surge of last-minute shoppers and deep discounts, news services reported.

Two reports released Wednesday showed that a rush of shoppers the week before Christmas helped bolster many stores’ receipts for the critical season, Reuters said.

The Bank of Tokyo-UBS Warburg’s weekly chain store sales index rose 2.9% for the week ended Dec. 22 and althought the Instinet Redbook Average fell 4.5% for the first three weeks of December, it it had fallen 4.8% in the first two weeks of the month, suggesting that things were getting better as Christmas drew nearer, Reuters reported.

The Wall Street Journal pointed to discount stores like Wal-Mart and Target as leaders of the sales rebound. Uncertainty about the economy and reduced consumer spending, many last-minute shoppers were drawn to the large chains because of their lower prices.

Any upswing in sales, regardless of the price retailers are getting for products, is good for the trucking industry because increased purchasing leads to an increase in ordering replacement goods for store shelves. Such ordering is key to maintaining demand for trucking services.

Many specialty retail and department stores were forced to offer discounts as well, possibly damaging fourth-quarter profits, the Journal reported.

Wal-Mart said that its sales rose between 7% and 9% between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve, traditionally the busiest shopping period of the year.

Sales at stores open at least one year rose 2.2% for the holiday season, a report by TeleCheck Services showed. The increase was an improvement over initial 2% projections, the Journal said.

Economists cited by the New York Times say that despite the discounts, the fact that many retailers emptied their inventories is good for the economy at large. With inventories lower, companies will have to put in factory orders for new goods.

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