Retailers Come Up Short in Homestretch
CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. retailers likely came up short in the biggest shopping weekend of the year, as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:WMT - news) said a last-minute pick-up in holiday sales was not enough to make up for a sluggish start to December.
Analysts on Monday said they saw little reason to change their assessment of the holiday shopping season, which has not delivered on expectations for a strong rebound from last year's disappointing performance.
I'm wondering how much effect this 'orange alert' will have on the final couple of days," he said.
Wal-Mart, the world's biggest company and a barometer of U.S. consumer spending, said it still expects December sales at its U.S. stores open at least a year to reach only the lower end of its forecast for 3 percent to 5 percent gain.
"Although we are not up to our original plan, progress was made over the recent weekend," Wal-Mart said on a recorded message. The retailer said it would provide a post-Christmas update on Friday instead of next Monday as usual.
For the second week in a row, Wal-Mart said fewer people shopped at its stores, although they spent more on average. The best-selling categories last week included pharmacy, electronics, toys, girls' clothing, outerwear and pet supplies.