Store traffic heavy, but spending less so

Associated Press

Lured by big discounts and fears that must-have holiday items will be in short supply, consumers crowded malls and shopping centers over the Thanksgiving weekend, snapping up video games, DVDs and anything to do with Harry Potter.

However, the weekend’s receipts won’t be the bonanza some merchants hoped for.

Early-bird specials and other bargains from big chains such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. attracted consumers who were already frugal before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks prompted them to further curtail their spending. The come-ons worked, giving the value-priced retailers satisfactory sales.

But other merchants, particularly department stores and specialty stores that have been languishing for months, barely met their modest expectations for the weekend, the start of the holiday buying rush.

"Retailers pushed real hard. Traffic was strong, but sales were less strong," said Jeffrey Feiner, managing director of Lehman Brothers Inc., who estimated sales at the 22 retailers he follows were at best unchanged from last year’s Thanksgiving weekend.

"Most stores entered the shopping period with low expectations, and many met those expectations this weekend," said Kurt Barnard, president of Barnard’s Retail Trend Report. "But deep down they were hoping to get better than what they got. There was a lot of window shopping."

Barnard and others said sales were solid Friday, but cited a sharper-than-expected drop-off in sales on Saturday and Sunday.

Meanwhile, TeleCheck Services Inc., a check approval service, reported sales paid for by check at stores open at least a year rose 2.4 percent on Friday from last year. Checks account for about a third of retail spending and remain second to cash as the most popular method of payment. The increase was in line with its forecast for a 2 percent gain.

Copyright ©2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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