by Calculated Risk on 11/27/2005 11:58:00 AM

The NY Times reports: Initial Reports Are Mixed for Retail's Busiest Day

Two reports measuring consumer spending for Friday, both released last night, painted an unusually muddy portrait of what has become the busiest shopping day of the year.

Sales Draw Shoppers ShopperTrak, a national survey firm, said sales for the day after Thanksgiving - called Black Friday in the industry because of hopes that it will catapult retailers into the black for the year - fell 0.9 percent over last year, to $8.01 billion.

Visa USA, on the other hand, reported that use of its credit cards had risen 13.9 percent.

Both companies characterized the results as a healthy start to the season, but the wide gap between them raised questions about the strength of the holiday shopping period, which accounts for as much as 25 percent of annual sales for the retail industry.

Click on drawing for larger image.
Drawing from Elaine Supkis.

Meanwhile, the National Retail Federation was very upbeat: Blockbuster Black Friday Weekend Sees Sales Near $28 Billion

The ceremonial kickoff to the holiday season began with a great deal of fanfare as 145 million shoppers flooded stores and the Internet hunting for popular electronics, clothing, and books. An NRF survey conducted by BIGresearch found that the average shopper spent $302.81 this weekend, bringing total weekend spending to $27.8 billion, an incredible 21.9 percent increase over last year's$22.8 billion.

As expected, retailers offered substantial discounts and savings on Black Friday to bring people into their stores and consumers held up their end of the bargain by going shopping, said NRF President and CEO Tracy Mullin. Even though many retailers saw strong sales this past weekend, companies will not be basking in their success. Stores are already warming up for the next four weeks because the holiday season is far from over.

More than 60 million shoppers headed to the stores on Black Friday, an increase of 7.9 percent over last year. Another 52.8 million shopped on Saturday, a rise of 13.3 percent over 2004. The number of shoppers out today is expected to be close to last year, with about 22 million people shopping.