Resilient Shoppers Get 2007 Off To Good Start
Consumers put their gift cards to good use in January, acquiring discounted winter apparel and new spring merchandise at clothing, department and personal care stores. Retail industry sales for January, excluding automobiles, gas stations and restaurants, rose 5.3 percent over last year, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF).
“Shoppers hit the stores in January to redeem holiday gift cards from a wide variety of retailers,” said Rosalind Wells, chief economist for the NRF. “Though January is historically the slowest sales month for retailers, gift cards are changing the game by bringing a much-needed boost to stores.”
Consumers visited apparel and personal care stores in January to take advantage of all the discounted merchandise with gift cards in hand. Clothing and clothing accessories stores saw a 6 percent sales increase over last year, while health and personal care stores showed the strongest year-to-year gains with a 10.4 percent increase.
Electronics and appliance stores are still experiencing sales increases largely due to the popularity of such items as high definition televisions, video game systems and MP3 players.
The NRF continues to expect 2007 sales to increase 4.8 percent over 2006.
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