The holiday shopping season is off to a strong start, with retailers poised to top the $9 billion sale figure by the end of the season.
Tom Saquella, president of the Maryland Retailers Association, said sales are expected to climb a total of $4.5 million this year, topping the $9 billion mark set last year.
“We has a strong start in Maryland, even better than some people expected,” Saquella said Tuesday. “I think the weather, which was fantastic, and heavy promotions caused pretty solid sales results on Friday and Saturday.”
Ken Lakin, chief executive officer of Boscov?s ? a new player in the Baltimore region?s retail game ? said electronics drove customers into his stores during the first weekend of holiday shopping.
“There was a lot of excitement over the lower prices on plasma TVs,” he said.
But traditional apparel gifts didn?t move as well because of the unseasonably warm weather during the Thanksgiving holiday.
“It was not a good start for cold weather items such as hats, scarves, coats and sweaters,” Lakin said. “We have a lot of that left over.”
General Growth Properties Inc., owner of The Mall in Columbia, Towson Town Center and White Marsh Mall, said shoppers continued to pack parking lots throughout the holiday weekend.
“Our retailers, especially ones that opened earlier than usual, could not have been happier,” said Wally Brewster, senior vice president of marketing and communication for General Growth Properties. “If the number of shopping bags we saw at our malls across the country is any indication, it?s going to be a great holiday season for everyone.”
Saquella said the outlook for the remainder of the shopping season depends on the next two weeks.
“We?ll always get a rush the last seven days,” he said. “I hope the momentum from last weekend continues. The weather looks favorable, maybe a little cooler, which retailers like, as long as it?s clear. They dread snow.”
Nationally, shoppers spend a little more than $14 billion on Friday and Saturday, up 3.4 percent from a year ago, according to ShopperTrak RCT Corp., which tracks sales at more than 45,000 retail outlets.
“The hysteria has come down a bit, but it was a great start,” ShopperTrak co-founder Bill Martin told The Associated Press. He said the real yardstick of the season is whether retailers “can sustain the loyalty and excitement” through the season.
