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Daily Gains Letter, (www.DailyGainsLetter.com) an e-letter of Lombardi Publishing Corporation, a 26-year-old consumer publisher that has served over one million customers in 141 countries, cautions readers that sales from retail stores in the fourth quarter, in the lead-up to the holiday season, are looking bleak.Whereas, traditionally, the fourth quarter has been the strongest period of growth for U.S. retailers, with sales luring shoppers through their doors, the predictions for this holiday season are dire. In fact, cost-cutting measures by stores may prevent 2013 holiday seasonal hiring from reaching last year’s 12-year high. Thanks to weak consumer confidence, sales are projected to rise just 2.4% in November and December, compared to three percent in 2012 and four percent in 2011. (Source: Wohl, J., “U.S. holiday sales expected to rise less than last year: ShopperTrak,” Reuters web site, September 17, 2013; www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/17/us-usa-retail-shoppertrak-idUSBRE98G05E20130917.)
According to Daily Gains Letter financial analyst Moe Zulfiqar, this is because U.S. shoppers have become savvier. “They are looking for deals and deep discounts. When retailers put on a sale, their profit margin isn’t as high,” he says. “During the back-to-school season, consumers in the U.S. economy weren’t as enthusiastic and the demand was not as robust. The holiday shopping season isn’t looking great, either. Consumers in the U.S. economy still seem to be concerned, as it appears they just don’t want to spend.”
This is a major problem that runs to the very core of the U.S., a country that gets 70% of its GDP from consumer spending. The latest unemployment numbers sit stubbornly high at 7.3%, while 47 million Americans, or one-sixth of the country, receive food stamps and 76% live paycheck-to-paycheck. (Source: Johnson, A., “76% of Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck,” CNN web site, June 24, 2013; http://money.cnn.com/2013/06/24/pf/emergency-savings/.)
“In times like these, it isn’t surprising that consumers are stepping back from spending more,” Zulfiqar concludes. “They will start spending once there are good jobs created in the U.S. economy and they are happy about their future. As for the retail stocks, they don’t look as attractive going into the holiday season.”
Founded in 1986, Lombardi Publishing Corporation, which has served over one million customers in 141 countries, is one of the largest consumer information publishers in the world. For more information on Lombardi Publishing Corporation and Daily Gains Letter, visit www.lombardipublishing.com.
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Organization: Lombardi Publishing Corporation
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Website: http://www.dailygainsletter.com/
Release ID: 24446
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