Retail Chains Fared Better In October

Finally, there is some momentum with the retail chains. The NY Times reports that after last autumn, for the first time, in October, Americans seem to be pushing loaded shopping carts. What’s more positive was that retailers were able to achieve these sales without offering any freebies – like they did in October last. Then, to drive sales, retailers had to offer deep-margin-eroding discounts.

Yet another positive sign is that retailers seem to see some stabilization of sales in California. Recession has hit Californians’ very hard. Analysts feel that the momentum may carry on until Christmas. Most analysts and the National Retail Federation have already forecast that Christmas sales will be the same or slightly worse than what was achieved the year before. However, analysts at the Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) and the Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) expect sales to increase by 1 – 2 %.