Monday October 27, 07:25 PM
Deep pessimism among US retailers over holiday sales: study
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NEW YORK (AFP) - US retailers predicted Monday a 2.7 percent fall in sales over the year-end holiday season, as economic woes sparked by the financial collapse spread through the economy.
Chief marketing officers from leading US retailers told a survey by consultant BDO Seidman that they were more cautious about inventory and planning more discounts ahead of Christmas and other holidays.
"The pessimism among chief marketing officers this year is unprecedented and highly attributed to the recent turmoil in the financial markets," said Al Ferrara, a BDO Seidman retail specialist.
BDO Seidman said in a statement that the retailers surveyed in October -- many of the country's largest, each with more than 100 million dollars in annual revenues -- expected same-store sales to drop 2.7 percent and total sales to fall 2.8 percent this year compared with 2007.
Nearly two out of five stores expect comparable store sales to fall, and only one five predicts an increase; 41 percent expected sales to be flat.
The marketing officials blamed the uncertainty in financial markets, high energy costs and the weak housing market as the reason for the predicted slowdown.
A total of 88 percent of marketing officers said they were more planning discounts and promotions than before, compared to 73 percent last year.
Three-quarters of them were acting more cautiously about buying and building up inventory.
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