by Doug Desjardins
A Dec. 26 blizzard that paralyzed much of the Northeast for days took a major toll on post-holiday sales.
According to research firm Shopper Trak, the post-Christmas blizzard disrupted sales in several major markets, including New York, Boston and Philadelphia, and drained an estimated $1 billion in retail sales from the two-day period of Dec. 26-27.
Shopper Trak estimates U.S. retailers would have done $10 billion in sales during these two days but suffered a major loss in foot traffic because of the storms, which stranded more than 1 million people in airports alone. Shopper Trak estimates that retailers lost 11.2 percent of their foot traffic Dec. 26 and 13.9 percent on Dec. 27. 
“It’s like throwing a party and nobody comes because the focus has gone from post-holiday shopping to post-holiday travel,” said NPD Group chief industry analyst Marshall Cohen. “Look for sales to be repeated by retailers.” The day after Christmas is typically one of the five busiest shopping days of the year.
Online sales were expected to benefit from the blizzard, with stranded consumers spending their money online instead of in stores. During the 2009 holiday season, online sales jumped 15% in the days following a pre-Christmas storm.
Despite the weather-induced post-Christmas glitch, strong sales throughout the holiday season have analysts cautiously optimistic about retail sales in 2011.
Ken Perkins, president of Retail Metrics, said strong holiday sales are usually a bellwether for robust sales the following year. But he said retail sales this year were buoyed by a rising stock market - with the S&P 500 rising 20 percent since August - and a corresponding increase in consumer confidence, events that will be tough to replicate in 2011.
“To see the S&P have a similar gain in 2011 is unlikely,” said Perkins. “So where is the spending going to come from?”
Michael Niemira, president of the International Council of Shopping Centers, shared Perkins’ view that it will be difficult for retailers to repeat the gains of the 2010 holiday season, which were made against fairly easy comparisons to 2009.
“As I look to 2011, I think the easy gains are behind for retailers,” said Niemira. “They (retailers) reduced costs over the last couple of years and got a pickup in consumer demand.” He added that improving economic conditions will be weighed down by high unemployment, which is expected to linger well into 2011.
Research firm Morningstar issued a post-holiday report that calls for sales to remain strong in apparel, a category that experienced an 11 percent increase in holiday sales.
“Though we still harbor some concerns about discretionary spending amid elevated unemployment rates in the U.S. and economic uncertainty overseas, we believe post-holiday commentary from specialty apparel retailers will call for continued sales and earnings momentum in early 2011.”
Resources
U.S. Retailers Hurt as Snowstorm Thwarts Shoppers
COUPON TIME
If you were snowed in and missed the after-Christmas sales, don't forget that you can find some of the very best deals online! Check our home page for plenty of hot coupons.
