U.S. holiday sales view still weak after weekend rush

“That would put this cycle on track to compete with 1974 as one of the worst layoff cycles during a holiday season,” he said.

In a survey conducted by America’s Research Group, 38 percent of 809 respondents said they spent less this weekend than a year ago, while 18.9 percent said they spent more.

“There’s no way retail sales could be up when twice as many consumers spent less than more,” said Britt Beemer, CEO and founder of the group.

Beemer plans to cut his holiday sales forecast from the 1 percent decline he was already expecting after viewing survey results from the weekend.

That forecast was the first sales decline he had predicted in 23 years of conducting holiday spending surveys.

According to the NRF, more than half of this weekend’s shoppers visited stores and websites of discount chains such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Target Corp, lured by eye-popping bargains like a 42-inch Polaroid LCD high-definition television for US$699.98 on Walmart.com.

Other areas that did well, NRF said, were specialty chains that sell electronics, such as Best Buy Co Inc, and chains that sell apparel, such as Aeropostale Inc

Sales of women’s sweaters, jeans and boots were strong at several of Taubman Centers’ malls, as well as gadgets including GPS systems, MP3 players and Nintendo Co’s Wii game console. Apple’s iPod topped online best-seller lists through the weekend as well.

Taubman, which owns or manages 24 U.S. shopping centers, gathered anecdotal information from a sampling of stores.

Meanwhile, luxury brands are likely to take a hit.

“Those that don’t discount to protect their brands will have a tougher time,” said Michael Unger, principal in the retail practice at Archstone Consulting, referring to prestige names such as Gucci and Chanel.

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