This year's Black Friday showed that shoppers aren't any more confident than they were last year. Total sales were only up .5%, which is statistically not significant and really means nothing. In fact, since more shoppers (195 million) went out this weekend, the results are disappointing. Each shopper only spent $343.31 (on average), about $30 less than last year.
Early results for Cyber Monday, which is the season's online shopping day, shows sales are up 11%, according to the WSJ. Shoppers chased the discounts and free shipping offered by nearly 90% of retailers. Thanks to these discounts, each sale was 14% lower than last year.
What It Means to You
Cyber Monday is a great day to get what you want for discounted prices. To find out where the best sales are, go to CyberMonday.com.
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I don’t think that consumer confidence has changed from previous years, but rather people are more thrifty. “Only” 343 dollars spent per person for one day seems like quite a bit to me. What will it take for the retail sector to generate a healty profit…each person to go into thousands of dollars of debt each Holiday season? Seems to me like a classic example of “Tragedy of the Commons”. Metaphorically, the dilemma can be applied to retail stores and the consumer pool.
In light of lackluster Black-Friday sales, might we expect a slew of layoffs after the holidays? If so, how might nervous employees prepare or position themselves?
Here is a link to four articles that will help. Check back on Friday for this month’s Unemployment Report results.
I believe we are headed for a time when people need more than one stream of income. To find out ways to prepare, see The Freelance Economy. For tips from readers, or to add your own, go to How to Make the Freelance Economy Work for You.
Kimberly