Despite Successful Black Friday Weekend, Retailers Remain Cautious on Holiday

It’s another season of mood swings for retailers.

Black Friday weekend saw heady online gains and an OK turnout at stores, putting retail executives on a temporary high. Yet while consumers responded to the barrage of price promoting over the past week — with dry and cooler weather encouraging them to get out and buy gifts and winter styles — after Cyber Monday retailers anticipate a serious lull in business until about 10 days before Christmas.

Industrywide, caution over the overall holiday outlook remains and nobody is ready to revise the conservative forecasts for fourth-quarter low-single-digit revenue increases or declines, despite last weekend’s outcome. Read the full article on WWD.

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Evan Gold, executive vice president of Planalytics Inc., which uses weather forecasting to help retailers plan their business, said last weekend was the coldest Black Friday weekend in 10 years, but it was also the predominantly dry weather that sparked sales of coats, sweaters, hats and hot foods and drinks. “It was great for traffic.”

Looking ahead, the weather should continue to facilitate sales of cold weather clothing and gear. Gold said this week in the Northeast, temperatures will be in the upper 30s to low 50s, which is colder than last year; the Great Lake region will be in the upper 20s to low 40s, and also colder than last year; while the South will also be colder than last year. “The only place that might be warmer is the Northwest. The Southwest should be similar to last year or slightly colder,” Gold said. Go to the WWD website for more.