Christmas spending burst too late for Wal-Mart
Retail giant falls short of December targets
December 27 2003
Despite a last minute spending boom by US consumers, Wal-Mart will fall short of its original sales forecasts for December.
The world’s biggest retailer said that in the week to December 26: “We did see improvements in the last shopping days, but not enough to meet our original plan.”
Wal-Mart still expects December like-for-like sales at US stores to reach the low end of its forecast for a 3 per cent to 5 per cent increase for the month.
It said: “Holiday sales occurred even later than in prior years. Our sell through in the seasonal area was better than last year. Customers are shopping and decorating really late, with trees, ornaments and gift wrap purchased later than ever in the season.
“Outdoor decorations such as light sculptures and inflatables were very strong indicating customers looking for ease of installation and convenience.”
The strongest categories for December were pharmacy, electronics, toys, girl’s apparel, infants area, outerwear, household paper goods and food. The weakest were women’s clothing and homeware.
Wal-Mart also said its sales of gift cards are up over 20 per cent this year, and it expects a large percentage of card balances to be spent during the last week of December.
