Monday, November 28, 2016

"Thrifty U.S. consumers [left] retailers with less money in their registers and a lukewarm kickoff to the holiday season."

"Though the number of shoppers grew over the weekend, the average amount they spent fell 3.5 percent to $289.19, including both online and offline purchases...

Consumers shelled out $299.60 in 2015...

...there were smaller crowds at the mall.

...many of them were looking for just one thing: a good deal.

"Sales at brick-and-mortar stores fell 5.0 percent over the two days, 
while the number of transactions fell 7.9 percent"


“Over one-third of shoppers said 100 percent of their purchases were on sale... That increased more than threefold from last year, setting an ominous tone for the rest of the holiday season -- retailers’ biggest sales period of the year.


...their refusal to spend as much could renew concerns about the sluggish retail economy. Companies have been trying to bounce back from a polarizing election season that they said prevented consumers from making purchases. They were hoping a strong start to the holiday shopping season would give a boost to the industry.

...retailers also are grappling with a longer-term shift toward more thriftiness -- aided by technology.

...people have been much more deliberate about the purchases they’ve made. And that coincided with the ability to access information in a very transparent way because of the existence of smartphones and technology-enabled pricing.”

Moreover, e-commerce has reduced the need to buy gifts on Black Friday weekend itself. Online sellers are doing more promotions either before or after the four-day stretch. EBay Inc., for instance, urged Thanksgiving travelers to buy things on their phones while in transit, dubbing the event “Mobile Wednesday.”

...The discounts squeeze profit margins, but there’s often no alternative...

“In a perfect world, everyone would sell everything at full price...

Some consumers also are waiting longer to start their holiday shopping, which puts pressure on retailers to keep up the promotions. Almost a quarter of consumers surveyed by Prosper Insights hadn’t purchased anything on their holiday lists yet, a higher percentage than last year...

http://www.bloombergquint.com/business/2016/11/27/black-friday-shoppers-cut-spending-as-they-chase-deep-discounts
.
.
Skip Alston, Earl Jones and friends "who asked to defend council redistricting suit now want out"

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/11/skip-alston-earl-jones-and-friends-who.html

Greensboro's City Council must have been too stupid to figure it out

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/11/greensboros-city-council-must-have-been.html

Dear Greensboro and North Carolina; "Wells Fargo Employees Suing Over Retirement Plans

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/11/dear-greensboro-and-north-carolina.html

Wells Fargo says customers are subject to agreements in the fake accounts they didn't open

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/11/wells-fargo-says-customers-are-subject.html

Lex Alexander; "the 2016 U.S. presidential election was stolen"

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/11/lex-alexander-2016-us-presidential.html

"How participants in the "Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program" (SNAP, aka Food Stamps) spend their taxpayer-funded subsidies"

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/11/how-participants-in-supplemental.html

Thank you EZGreensboro.com readers; 1,100,456 Pageviews

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/11/thank-you-ezgreensborocom-readers.html

"Dozens of Wells Fargo Employees Filed Whistleblower Complaints with Feds, New Data Shows"

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/11/dozens-of-wells-fargo-employees-filed.html

A comment awaiting moderation at Triad City Beat's "Say Yes says maybe to undocumented Guilford students"

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/11/a-comment-awaiting-moderation-at-triad.html

It just got more expensive for the City of Greensboro to borrow money

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/11/it-just-got-more-expensive-for-city-of.html