ETD: 943 2006 Predictions; Retail Spending Rose 8.7% in
Holiday '05; Largest retailer in Japan
E-Tailer's Digest
etd_post at gapent.com
Tue Dec 27 14:18:53 GMT 2005
E-Tailer's Digest --- Everything for the Retailer
Issue #0943 December 27, 2005
George Matyjewicz, Moderator mailto:georgem at gapent.com
Published by: GAP Enterprises, Ltd. http://www.etailersdigest.com
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CONTENTS
[1] Greetings
[2] 2006 Predictions
[3] Retail Spending Rose 8.7% in Holiday '05,
[4] Largest retailer in Japan
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[1] Greetings.
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Hi All:
Hope everybody is enjoying this holiday season, and I hope that the
season brought your business much success.
Let's take a look at 2006 and beyond. What do you think the new
trends will be? Will we be ahead of that curve?
It seems retail sales were up 8.7% this year over last according to a
survey by MasterCard International. And the season will continue as
people cash in those gift cards they received, although I am not sure
how the retailers are recording those sales. Gift card sales should
not be a sale, at least not until a product is sold.
There is an interesting article in today's WSJ about the 7-Eleven
stores in Japan and how that chain will be the largest
retailer (through acquisition) in Japan. I found this article
interesting in that Japanese companies do have unique concepts. For
example, 7-Eleven offers a service to retailers whereby you ship
products to the consumer for pickup at 7-Eleven. Japanese work long
hours and get home late, and cannot get to a post office. Hence the
ability to pick up the package on your way home is appealing. I'm
anxious to see how this new company succeed.
Now, let's get to everything for the retailer.
Sincerely
George Matyjewicz, PhD
Chief Global Strategist, GAP Enterprises, LLC
mailto:georgem at gapent.com
http://www.etailersdigest.com
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[2] 2006 Predictions
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Each year we see a lot of predictions as to what is coming in the
following year. And we have done it a couple of times over the past
7 years. So, let's try it again. What do you see will be the trends
in 2006? What will be new? Let's consider the following sectors:
1. Retailing (brick & mortar)
2. E-tailing
3. Technology
4. Marketing and advertising
5. Communications
6. General business
7. General economy
George
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[3] Retail Spending Rose 8.7% in Holiday '05,
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After a few slumping weeks in early December, consumers came back to
stores in the last days before Christmas to deliver a solid, if not
spectacular, holiday season, according to one early projection.
Holiday spending climbed 8.7% ahead of last year, according to
SpendingPulse, a retail-sales data service from MasterCard
International's MasterCard Advisors unit. Demand for flat-panel
television sets, MP3 players and digital cameras helped spur gains,
as did sales of home furnishings. But sales of jewelry fell this
season following years of solid gains.
"Overall, we got off to a very strong start, then that evolved into a
solid finish," says Michael McNamara, vice president of research and
analysis for MasterCard Advisors. But he cautioned, "It didn't blow
the barn doors off."
The SpendingPulse data covers the period from Friday, Nov. 25,
through Saturday, Dec. 24, a 30-day shopping season this year
compared with only 29 days in 2004. The projection is based on data
and analysis that includes purchases made via credit and debit cards,
cash and checks. It includes sales at stores and on the Internet,
sales of gift cards and sales of food in stores and restaurants. It
doesn't include auto or gasoline sales.
The strongest category gains came in home furnishings, including
linens and picture frames, with sales up 15%, according to the
SpendingPulse data. Sales of consumer electronics grew 11%, fueled in
part by prices for flat-screen TVs and digital cameras that were
lower than last year. Sales of sporting goods, books, music and video
advanced 6.4%, while apparel rose 5.8%, despite the lack of must-have
items this year. Women's apparel did a little better, with an 8.2%
gain. Furniture sales rose 5.3%. Sales of jewelry slid 4.6%, perhaps
as shoppers funneled their big-ticket spending into electronics.
Online spending continued to explode this year, as retailers offered
Web-only discounts and shipped gifts later than ever. Holiday retail
sales on the Internet are expected to top predictions of $19.6
billion in sales this year, a figure that is 24% ahead of the $15.8
billion consumers spent online last holiday season, according to
comScore Networks Inc., a Reston, Va., market-research firm.
Details at...
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113564495859931796.html
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[4] Largest retailer in Japan
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Seven & I Holdings Co., which operates supermarkets and 7-Eleven
convenience stores, said it will acquire a Japanese department-store
company in a deal valued at $1.7 billion, creating Japan's biggest
retail conglomerate by sales.
The acquisition underscores how retailers are eager to tap into
Japanese consumers' wallets just as they begin to spend after more
than a decade of economic doldrums. It also represents the company's
expansion into the upscale department-store segment.
Overall consumption also appears to be on the mend: Barclays Capital
economist Takuji Aida recently estimated that real consumption will
grow 2.1% in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2006 -- the first time
it has topped 2% since 1996 -- and 2.4% the following year.
"Now is a good chance for retailers to be making investments in their
operations," said Tatsuyuki Morikawa, a retail-industry consultant at
Kurt Salmon Associates in Tokyo. With retail consumers more eager to
spend, the investments will likely pay off, he said.
Details at...
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113556130419431499.html
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