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According to a forecast by IBM, retail sales will increase by almost 5% during the holiday season, with home appliances, clothing and jewelery being the biggest successes.
FULL CREDIT: Mark Ralston / AFP / Getty Images
Major US retailers reported solid sales in the final quarter, and retail analysts believe the trend will continue on Black Friday and during the holiday season.
Up to now, everything is fine: according to the data from Adobe Analytics, online shopping between Wednesday and until 10:00 am ET totaled $ 2.8 billion, exceeding total expenses of the company. 39, last year for the same period.
So far, Americans have spent $ 406 million on Thanksgiving Day, an increase of 23% over the previous year. Adobe expects online sales to reach a new record of $ 3.5 billion. This is well above the $ 2.9 billion spent the same day in 2017.
Wednesday, the eve of Thanksgiving, when retailers increased their sales of Black Friday, was another record day. Sales rose 32% over last year to reach $ 2.4 billion. According to Adobe, yesterday was the first day of the history of online shopping where half of the visits to retailers' websites came from mobiles.
"The pre-Thanksgiving deals seem to have prompted consumers to spend a little earlier, as we were attending our second day of shopping for a $ 2 billion vacation," said Taylor Schreiner, director of Adobe Digital Insight.
"This growth continues in the early hours of Thanksgiving day and we expect strong growth in sales and mobile throughout the day."
According to IBM forecasts, retail sales will increase by 4.8% this holiday season. This is stronger than the strong growth of 4.2% last year. Home appliances, clothing and jewelry will be the biggest successes of the holiday season, predicts IBM.
Digital sales are already in full swing in November, up 16.7% from last year, according to Adobe Analytics. Electronics, including Nintendo consoles, Amazon Fire TVs and Amazon Echo loudspeakers, have been among the best sellers since the beginning of the month. Adobe expects retailers to make significant discounts on computers, TVs and tablets on Black Friday to boost sales.
"We are on track for a new season of success for e-commerce," said Taylor Schreiner, director of Adobe Digital Insights, in a statement.
Difficult week for retail stocks
Wall Street, however, remains concerned about the cost of retailers' plans to win the holiday shopping season. A busy day for retail sales led to a sharp decline in inventory at several stores on Tuesday.
Target (TGT) has reported sales and profit margins below the high expectations of investors. Despite strong sales growth of 5.1% in stores open for at least a year and a 49% digital growth, Wall Street has punished Target for having struggled to limit its costs. Target's spending has increased as it struggles to ship more orders online and compete with Amazon.
Kohl's (KSS) also announced a positive quarter on Tuesday, but a similar story took place on Wall Street. Kohl's has found creative ways to reformat its stores and generate traffic, but investors have criticized the company for providing advice that was below the expectations of some analysts.
Last week, Walmart (WMT) posted a quarterly growth of 3.4% in stores and raised its forecast for the holidays. But the profits missed filling the orders online.
Best Buy (BBY) was behind this trend, stating that same-store sales rose 4.3% in the final quarter, a sixth straight quarter above 4%. Unlike other stores, profits have also increased. The company announced its forecast for the purchase of televisions and electronic equipment by consumers during this holiday.
Some stores warned that the holidays would not be as strong as some hoped. TJX, the parent company of TJMaxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods, announced a 7% increase in its store sales in the last quarter, as consumers flocked in search of bargains. But TJX was disappointed by the stagnant advice.
Other retailers have been unable to take advantage of a healthy environment. JCPenney (JCP) said last week that same-store sales fell 5.4% last quarter. Victoria's Secret (LB) and Barnes & Noble (BKS) are also under fire from critics. Victoria's Secret reduced its split and same-store sales by 6% in the last quarter as the brand lost contact with many women. Barnes & Noble same-store sales decreased 1.4% in the last quarter. Sales of the flagship brand Gap (GPS) fell 7% in the last quarter.
Investors are putting more pressure on companies to benefit from a healthy economy. Wages are rising, unemployment is low and retail spending continues to rise. In addition, Toys 'R' Us and Bon-Ton, two long-time rivals, pulled back and Sears filed for bankruptcy, allowing retailers to gain market share.
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