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Uncertainty clouds holiday shopping season after mixed forecasts from Walmart, Target Retailers are in for a mixed holiday season this year ahead of Black Friday and Christmas, marked by watchful consumers keeping big spending on a tight leash and vigilantly comparing prices on their mobile phones to look for the best deals on apparel, electronics and toys. Against this backdrop, bellwether Walmart (WMT.N) lifted annual sales and profit targets this week, and said a majority of its customers were maintaining holiday plans year over year in the midst of an election year. Walmart has managed to gain marketshare as its ultra-low prices on groceries and a wide range of discretionary goods attract upper-income households to its superstores. On the other hand, rival Target's forecasts for the holiday quarter were significantly subdued, with executives saying demand remains weak for higher-margin items such as home goods and electronics. Despite a rate cut from the U.S. Federal Reserve, the first in four years, consumer spending on non-essential items has remained uninspiring, and industry analysts expect a deal-heavy holiday shopping season yet again. Overall holiday shopping is expected to grow at its slowest pace in six years, according to separate reports from the National Retail Federation and Deloitte. This year, there are just 26 days between Black Friday — which has traditionally marked the beginning of the holiday shopping period, and Christmas, compared with 31 days last year. — Reuters

Uncertainty clouds holiday shopping season after mixed forecasts from Walmart, Target Retailers are in for a mixed holiday season this year ahead of Black Friday and Christmas, marked by watchful consumers keeping big spending on a tight leash and vigilantly comparing prices on their mobile phones to look for the best deals on apparel, electronics and toys. Against this backdrop, bellwether Walmart (WMT.N) lifted annual sales and profit targets this week, and said a majority of its customers were maintaining holiday plans year over year in the midst of an election year. Walmart has managed to gain marketshare as its ultra-low prices on groceries and a wide range of discretionary goods attract upper-income households to its superstores. On the other hand, rival Target's forecasts for the holiday quarter were significantly subdued, with executives saying demand remains weak for higher-margin items such as home goods and electronics. Despite a rate cut from the U.S. Federal Reserve, the first in four years, consumer spending on non-essential items has remained uninspiring, and industry analysts expect a deal-heavy holiday shopping season yet again. Overall holiday shopping is expected to grow at its slowest pace in six years, according to separate reports from the National Retail Federation and Deloitte. This year, there are just 26 days between Black Friday — which has traditionally marked the beginning of the holiday shopping period, and Christmas, compared with 31 days last year. — Reuters

It's the season for shopping, and as usual, Black Friday is expected to be the busiest shopping day in the US. The second busiest day of the season is expected to be "Super Saturday," Dec. 21, followed by Monday, Dec. 23, which is pretty close to Christmas. In the US, the top 10 shopping days account for 30%-40% of all holiday retail traffic. For retailers, this year it’s a short run between Black Friday and Christmas, and concerns around e-commerce deadlines will drive people to stores, especially as it gets closer to Christmas. For the e-commerce side of any business, this means ensuring your fulfillment operations are ready to go so those orders can be completed accurately and quickly in time for the holidays. If you're looking to ensure your systems are holiday-ready, I’d love to discuss how we can support your business. #Warehousing #Innovation #BlackFriday

Again? Every year, Black Friday and holiday shopping season is a make-or-break for the retail industry. Like Christmas Past, Christmas Present and the weeks leading up to and beyond can’t come soon enough for retailers. It's no different this year with most retailers worried about what Christmas Future will bring if sales don't come through. Can someone tell Grinch to get a grip? On the bright side, consumers are still buying holiday gifts. If we're being honest, many have been buying for months. I'm sure the piles of boxes stacked to the rafters in your neighbors' garages anecdotally tells you shopping and materialism is alive and well. Or if you want more factual stats, look no further than credit card balances, which have thus far increased by $24 billion to hit $1.17 trillion. Target has become the unofficial and unwanted bellwether. The retailer with the hip, cheery and catchy ads (they really should bring back Bullseye the bull terrier sales rep) may be an early signal of less-than-stellar holiday shopping season for anyone not named Amazon or Walmart. Target's poor holiday forecast likely has smaller retailers hoping the happy-go-lucky Scrooge shows up early this season, and not the one that let Bob Cratchit freeze over the company ledger. For retailers, the best advice or at least, positive thinking comes from Lloyd Christmas. "So you're saying there's a chance?" Well, the giant bargain bin known as holiday shopping is just that. The amount of Black Friday deals, countdown timers, coupons and promo codes inundating our lives is amazing...and overwhelming. Yet, customers, while resilient according every economist and Fed Reserve employee, are awaiting the best deals. What constitutes the best deal, Charlie Brown? Like I said, many consumers have been stocking up since the summer thanks to Prime Days, Summer Black Friday, and even the constant carousel of Choice Deals on AliExpress. So, it'll have to be a super deal come Thanksgiving Black Friday or Cyber Monday, Tuesday or how we just make easy, and call it CyberWeek. That has to have retailers sweating it out in their sometime futile attempts to lure customers into stores and not abandon their overflowing, 'we can only dream' shopping carts. It's another holiday shopping season, and retailers are facing yet another win big or go home situation. Consumers are once again waiting for the best deal before running to the register or clicking the 'Buy Now" button.  As Scrooge said at the end, "The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach." From the looks of it, life's VCR has us stuck in a loop https://lnkd.in/g7Mrme-G #retail #holidays #blackfriday #holidayshopping #ecommerce #onlineshopping #economy

The annual PwC UK Black Friday survey shows there may be light at the end of the tunnel for the key consumer date, as Scots shoppers are indicating more interest in bagging a bargain compared with last year. More than 41% of Scots say they’re interested in bagging a bargain this year - up from 35% last year. A higher proportion of shoppers north of the border have said they either ‘may buy’ or will ‘definitely buy’ than in 2023. The research also reveals that, even though the vast majority intend to shop in comfort, opting for online shopping and home delivery, one fifth of Scots still want the in-store experience and will head into stores to hunt down some discounts. Hopefully this will be the case, giving retailers a boost as they count down to the festive period. Read the full story here: https://pwc.to/3USPTiY #BlackFridayPredictions #BlackFriday #ConsumerMarkets #ScottishRetail Carla Rinaldi Steve Wright Jason Higgs Jason Morris Jonathan Shelley James Capel Matthew Hall

With fewer shopping days between Black Friday and Christmas this year, consumers who hold out to start their holiday shopping could find it costs them more in the long run. "With rushing comes poorer decision making and a higher likelihood of overspending or buying unnecessary items,” explains #marketing professor Tandy Thomas. Read more in The Globe and Mail: https://lnkd.in/ggx2Tdnc #SmithBusiness #Marketing #BlackFriday

This year there are five fewer days between Black Friday and Christmas Day in comparison to 2023. Is there a chance retailers could be challenged due to the time crunch? Even as small as it may seem, five fewer days for shopping is noteworthy. The National Retail Federation estimates that “retail sales in November and December to rise between 2.5% and 3.5% compared to last year, reaching up to $989 billion.” Retailers are acting accordingly in a shorter holiday season to try and make these projections a reality. Experts like Howard Meitiner in this article say things like inflation are more likely to impact sales than the shorter time. As long as retailers execute! #Retail #HolidayShopping #Shopping

The holiday shopping season is about to reach full speed with Black Friday, which kicks off the post-Thanksgiving retail rush later this week. The annual sales event no longer creates the midnight mall crowds or doorbuster mayhem of recent decades, in large part due to the ease of online shopping and habits forged during the COVID-19 pandemic. Retailers already have spent weeks bombarding customers with ads and early offers. Still, whether visiting stores or clicking on countless emails promising huge savings, tens of millions of U.S. shoppers are expected to spend money on Black Friday itself this year. Industry forecasts estimate that 183.4 million people will shop in U.S. stores and online between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, according to the National Retail Federation and consumer research firm Prosper Insights & Analytics. Of that number, 131.7 million are expected to shop on Black Friday. What to know with The Associated Press: https://lnkd.in/efA6CY2S

With just about a month away from Black Friday, which is considered the official kick-off of the holiday shopping season, sales forecasts are all over the map. At one end is PwC’s estimate of a 7 percent increase in sales over last year and a 15 percent gain compared to 2022. On the other hand, there is a more conservative projection of a 2.5 to 3.5 percent gain from the National Retail Federation. Estimates from Deloitte are in line with the NRF as the analysts at the firm expect a 2.3 to 3.3 percent gain but with e-commerce forecasted to grow between 7 and 9 percent year-over-year. On a WWD webinar earlier this week, Ethan Chernofsky, senior vice president of marketing at Placer.ai, described the current consumer spending and retail landscape as “bifurcated.” Chernofsky said there are a lot of variables affecting consumer spending, and how and where they’re shopping this holiday season. He said retailers need to go deep into the consumer mindset and focus on merchandise curation that meets consumer demands for value and style. Read more here : https://lnkd.in/gDwX-2H4

A new study by VoucherCodes shows that shoppers are expected to spend £9.14bn this Black Friday Weekend https://lnkd.in/emEXQKjP #retail #retailnews #blackfriday #cybermonday #blackfridayweekend #consumerspending #customerspending #consumerinsights #insights