by Doug Desjardins
While all the numbers on holiday sales aren't due until mid-January when the U.S. Commerce Department and major retailers release December results, it's safe to say the season had more winners than losers, at least when compared to 2008.
Preliminary results show just about everyone got a share of the 3.6 percent increase in sales reported by Mastercard RetailPulse - an increase that amounts to just 1.3 percent when the extra shopping day of 2009 is taken out of the equation. But, with that said, it's hard to find anyone that was a runaway success in 2009.
Probably the closest is Best Buy. With main rival Circuit City out of the picture this year, it reaped the bulk of the 5.9 percent increase in consumer electronics sales reported by the MasterCard survey. Best Buy also reported an 8.4 percent increase in November same-store sales. 
Toy retailer Toys "R" Us will probably emerge as a winner as well - though not on the level of Best Buy - primarily because of the emergence of Zhu Zhu Pets as the must-have toy of 2009. Toys "R" Us will likely report a slight bump in sales thanks to traffic generated by the electronic hamsters and a focus on low-priced toys. Wal-Mart and Target should also emerge as winners, thanks to wide-scale price cuts and relentless weekly promotions that began in October.
Department store chains could also end up in the winner's category, at least in the sense that they didn't repeat the catastrophic declines of 2008. According to MasterCard, sales of luxury items like jewelry increased nearly 1 percent and men's clothing jumped 3.9 percent, an increase offset partially by a 0.3 percent decrease in women's apparel. Don't look for Macy's, JC Penney or Nordstrom's to report great results but even flat sales could be considered a moral victory.
On the flip side, specialty apparel retailers are likely to emerge as holiday losers once again, with sales of specialty apparel falling 0.4 percent overall. In early December, several chains reported sharp drops in November sales, including The Children's Place with a 13 percent decline and Abercrombie & Fitch posting a 17 percent decrease. Aside from the bump in men's clothing sales for the holiday season, there's nothing to indicate that these chains were able to rebound in December.
One lesson retailers can take away from the season is that promotions on social media sites work. A survey by comScore reported that 28 percent of consumers said their holiday purchases were influenced by promotions on Facebook and Twitter.
If nothing else, the retail sector can claim a victory for beating the early estimates calling for a decline in holiday sales, assuming the numbers from MasterCard are supported by other research firms. The National Retail Federation was calling for a 1 percent drop in sales and ShopperTrac was predicting a decline of 4 percent.
Resources
Report: Jewelry Sales up for Holiday 2009
Best Buy Outpaces Rivals in Electronics Sales
Stalking the Elusive Zhu Zhu: Where to Find Season's "It" Toy
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2 Responses to “In Retail, More Holiday Winners than Losers”
I just noticed that by the time that holiday comes, people always go to malls to shop. I just thought that the world was suffering from recession but it looks like that it's not.
Well, It's maybe because it was holiday and for the spirit of Christmas and sharing. It's one thing that I've noticed that no matter how poor life is, People always finds a way to celebrate Christmas and Holidays. After all, It was just once a year to give thanks and celebrate the birth of Christ.