Back to school sales were up in the month of September. Consumers' appetites for spending showed no sign of abating during the month. Experts say that with back to school in high gear and the quick change in temperatures, retailers made out for the month of September. Good news for retailers and the economy as a whole as the holiday shopping season is just around the corner. Sales at retailers rose last month. For example, WalMart rose from 3.3% to 6%. Walmart contributes it strong ending for the month to their Sam's Club stores. The stronger (September) showing suggests consumer spending entered the holiday season with a great deal of momentum. Some retailers did not do so well. Talbot's only gained a 0.6% increase in sales which was a lot lower than Wall Street would have like to have seen. Talbot's contributes their lack of sales due to there mid season clearance event. It just didn't do as well as they had expected it to.
Even with the ups and downs that some retailers saw, many experts predict a better season compared to 2002 due to the fact that many retailers are "cleaner and leaner." Although the numbers are promising, some analysts on Wall Street are hesitant to predict positive outcomes for Christmas. They are cautious are certain factors that could contribute to a positive or negative shopping season. .
Part II.
This article is a great example of supply and demand and price. Demand on the retail level is still very strong. Consumer confidence may be a little more cautious than it was last year, but sales look to be ahead of last year's already. Experts are using the sale results from the back to school sales in retail stores to make predictions about the retail economy's future. It is all dependent on the demand that is out there for a particular item. Demand is the relationship between price and quantity demanded for a particular good and service in particular circumstances.
