While economists debate whether recession looms, American consumers aren't waiting for an answer. They are bringing their worries about the future of the economy into the malls, turning this into what marketing guru Jim Taylor calls the "iNeed" holiday season. Shoppers are cutting back on spending and choosing more practical presents like gift cards for gas or groceries.
"There is an emotional recession going on where people have the sense that another shoe going to drop," said Taylor, vice chairman at the Harrison Group, a Waterbury, Conn.-based market research firm.
The conservative mind-set appears to have caught many retailers off guard. On Thursday, Target Corp. warned that it could miss its fourth-quarter earnings target if December sales fail to "meaningfully improve." The discount chain joined a growing chorus of retailers issuing profit warnings for the critical three-month period that includes the holidays, among them J.C. Penney Co., Kohl's Corp. and Gap Inc.
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