Nov. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Black Friday sales advanced 0.5 percent from a year earlier as discounts on televisions, toys and computers drew budget-conscious crowds across the U.S., according to ShopperTrak RCT Corp. Sales for the day after the Thanksgiving holiday rose to $10.7 billion, the Chicago-based research firm said yesterday in a statement. That compared with a 3 percent gain to $10.6 billion on Black Friday last year, a "surprisingly strong" result before economic turmoil dragged down sales for the rest of the holiday season, ShopperTrak said. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, attracted consumers with $298 Hewlett-Packard laptop computers and other specials that went on sale at 5 a.m. Best Buy Inc., the biggest electronics chain, used $547.99 42-inch Samsung flat-panel TVs to lure shoppers grappling with the highest unemployment in 26 years. The retailer had bigger early-morning crowds than last year, Chief Executive Officer Brian Dunn said. "The surprise news is that they are actually buying for themselves as well, due to pent-up demand and frugal fatigue," Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst with NPD Group Inc. said in a Bloomberg Television interview Nov. 27. "They are saying `Let's loosen up the purse strings a little bit,' but it is still cautious spending." NPD, based in Port Washington, New York, is a market research firm.
Nov. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Black Friday sales advanced 0.5 percent from a year earlier as discounts on televisions, toys and computers drew budget-conscious crowds across the U.S., according to ShopperTrak RCT Corp.
Sales for the day after the Thanksgiving holiday rose to $10.7 billion, the Chicago-based research firm said yesterday in a statement. That compared with a 3 percent gain to $10.6 billion on Black Friday last year, a "surprisingly strong" result before economic turmoil dragged down sales for the rest of the holiday season, ShopperTrak said.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, attracted consumers with $298 Hewlett-Packard laptop computers and other specials that went on sale at 5 a.m. Best Buy Inc., the biggest electronics chain, used $547.99 42-inch Samsung flat-panel TVs to lure shoppers grappling with the highest unemployment in 26 years. The retailer had bigger early-morning crowds than last year, Chief Executive Officer Brian Dunn said.
"The surprise news is that they are actually buying for themselves as well, due to pent-up demand and frugal fatigue," Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst with NPD Group Inc. said in a Bloomberg Television interview Nov. 27. "They are saying `Let's loosen up the purse strings a little bit,' but it is still cautious spending." NPD, based in Port Washington, New York, is a market research firm.
Best Buy Inc., the biggest electronics chain, used $547.99 42-inch Samsung flat-panel TVs to lure shoppers grappling with the highest unemployment in 26 years.
