SNEWS, the leading trade news service for the US outdoor and fitness market (www.snewsnet.com), recently took a look at how retail fared over the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend, considered to be the official kick-off of the US holiday shopping season. The European Outdoor Group is excerpting it here with permission.

Black Friday arrived almost as soon as the turkey was consumed for some shoppers, with stores opening even earlier than ever this year. Retailers were nervous and consumers were, it appears, very eager to shop as long as shopping involved a bargain price for great product. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), Black Friday did not disappoint in terms of the numbers of shoppers, but folks were keeping a tight rein on their wallets. In its Black Friday summary report released on November 29, NRF stated 195 million shoppers visited stores and websites over Black Friday weekend, up from 172 million in 2008. However, as expected, average spending dropped from USD$372.57 in 2008 to USD$343.31 this year. Total spending reached USD$41.2 billion.

Planalytics Inc predicted in its annual holiday season report that mild temperatures and no significant weather events would lead to less demand for seasonal items, such as outerwear, boots, fleece and bedding, and relatively stronger demand for non-seasonal items, including electronics, jewelry, toys and kitchenware. And, for the most part, the predictions seemed to hold true.

NRF reported more people purchased sporting goods (12.6 percent, up from 11.4 percent in 2008), and personal care or beauty items (22.4 percent, up from 19 percent in 2008). The most popular purchases were clothing (50.9 percent) and books (40.3 percent), which remained nearly unchanged over last year.

In summary:
• According to the NRF, 28.5 percent of all shoppers spent their time buying online, a number that seems to be supported by other web traffic watchers.
• Online shopping lived up to its forecasts with more spent online this year than over the same period in 2008 by 3 percent. Most popular items included various Wii systems, GPS devices, cameras, Nintendo systems, and the Apple iPod.
• Using a mobile phone to search for best prices while out shopping also increased.
• Top coupon searches were for Sears and Toys R Us.
• Weather will influence sales and what is sold but you can’t control it. Planalytics.com predicts from now until Christmas sales of winter footwear, outerwear, fleece and long-sleeved shirts will be down as a result of warmer weather across the nation. However, regionally, there will be opportunities and windows for strong sales of winter goods.
• Overall, forecasters estimated sales will be anywhere from up a digit to flat to down a digit this season.

To read the rest of this story, “The SNEWS holiday shopping report: Black Friday wrap, weather watch and a sales report card,” click here. If you are not currently a SNEWS subscriber and want to read future reports or news, EOG members based in Europe can activate a no-cost Freebie subscription to SNEWS by clicking here. Subscriptions will be activated once approved by SNEWS circulation services.