With big crowds showing up at stores across the country this weekend for Black Friday, and hopefull good turnout for Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday, Ed Butowsky, managing partner of Chapwood Investment Management, joins Fox News’ Kelly Wright to examine how major retailers are reacting to the reportedly 16% spike in sales this weekend.
While shoppers looking for a great deal or bargain shopping at the local retailers they certainly are not shying away from fighting the elements to gain a little savings. As one shopper noted waiting in line at a Toys R Us that if hunters can withstand the freezing cold weather while they are out hunting, she could certainly withstand the cold to save a few bucks. The crowds certainly turned out and exercised their purchasing powers this weekend. The big question is whether this was a good Black Friday and did it help retailers. Ed Butowsky certainly agrees this Black Friday is by far better than the last 2 Black Fridays. However, Ed quickly points out that this is one (1) day out of the year, and the real question that should be asked is if this jump start to the holiday season will yield more shoppers buying the rest of the year.
As Ed analyzes Black Friday further, this one day of bargain shopping shows how people feel about the economy, their jobs, and their future. Perception appears to be that while this is a good turnout for Black Friday and probably much better than previous years, it did not blow over analysts as the best year. Ed reminds viewers that this is just one day out of the year and Ed himself remains cautiously optimistic.
Does the shopper turnout this year reflect on a level of confidence the public has this holiday season that will translate into a sustained retail sales explosion? Ed believes that there is some level of confidence by the public that is reflected in such things as a growing stock market. Investors with portfolios are certainly feeling more confident because of the growing market that they are allowing themselves to spend a little extra this holiday season.
The main reasons why Ed maintains a cautiously optimistic outlook this shopping season is because of various factors namely: job market, tax cuts set to expire at the end of the year, and lack of clarity in the market overall. It’s that lack of clarity across the board that will instill hesitation in shoppers as they purchase bargains this holiday season. This weekend is certainly a good weekend, but as Ed points out it wasn’t a fantastic weekend. It certainly will not be a turning point for the economy on its way to recovery as there are many more structural changes that need to be in place to make that happen.
Tags: bargain shopping, black friday, cyber monday, deals, retail, shopping, stock market, toysrus
This is a great insight into not only what you should do on black Friday but every other shopping day of the year. Great article and video.