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COPYRIGHT 2003 FDCH e-media
Original Source: MARKET CALL
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNNfn ANCHOR, MARKET CALL: It is Black Friday, the official start of the holiday shopping season. Early bird shoppers across the country were up before the sun rose to get a jumpstart on their Christmas shopping and take advantage of after Thanksgiving sales. Despite all the hoopla, this is not the busiest day for retailers. According to the International Council of Shopping Centers, the Saturday and Monday before Christmas topped the list last year. Black Friday was the fourth busiest, which still makes it, you know, a significant indicator but does it really still hold all of that importance that it once did?
Joining me to make that "Tough Call" in our studio chief industry analyst with NPD Group, Marshall Cohen, and in Washington, Stephen Moore, president of the Club for Growth.
Gentlemen, welcome to the program. I`m going to start here with you, Marshall. You are one of those people who got up at the crack of down and went to check out the malls. What did you find?
MARSHALL COHEN, CHIEF INDUSTRY ANALYST, NPD GROUP: The malls were bustling with people looking but not really shopping. They weren`t buying. They were looking to see what kind of bargains and discounts there were.
ROMANS: So they`re discount-oriented? Are there as many discounts this year as there were last year?
COHEN: Interesting, this year we`re seeing a lot more creative discounts. A lot more of them are on a time schedule, buy before...
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