NEW YORK — Shoppers took a breather in October, resulting in lackluster gains for retailers and raising the stakes on what is sure to be a competitive holiday season.
For Christmas shoppers, that means that heavy discounts will be coming early and often.
“The deals will be so attractive that shoppers may not want to wait,” said John Long, retail strategist at Kurt Salmon Associates. “This is going to be a great [time] to be a consumer.”
For October, the International Council of Shopping Centers index measuring revenue at stores open at least a year showed a 1.6 percent increase in October, the weakest performance since April’s 0.8 percent increase. October’s figure represented a slowdown from September, when it rose 2.6 percent. It’s also below the average pace of 3.2 percent since the start of retailers’ fiscal year, which begins in February.
Revenue at stores open at least a year is considered a key indicator of a retailer’s health because it excludes results from newly opened stores. The index excludes Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which doesn’t report monthly sales, but includes drugstores like Walgreen Co., which announced disappointing figures.
For the holidays, competition already looks fierce. Many merchants have started pushing early morning discounts on holiday gifts. They’re also expanding layaway programs to help shoppers stretch their gift buying. Sears even plans to open its doors on Thanksgiving Day.
TV viewers are being bombarded even earlier with holiday commercials. Best Buy Co., for example, started its holiday TV ad campaign Monday; last year, it began Nov. 11.
