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Things are
looking up this holiday season:
"As
School Bells Ring, Retailers Start Listening for Sleigh Bells" (Reuters)
U.S. retailers
expect another solid showing this holiday season, as summertime surveys and
shipments show that companies are placing big orders even as some remain
cautious about the economy.
A report from
the National Retail Federation showed that increases are expected in imports
during August, September and October, critical
months when chains get their merchandise from overseas in time to stock their
holiday shelves.
Meanwhile,
manufacturers and importers surveyed by Capital Business Credit showed
"cautious optimism" for the 2012 holiday season, said Andrew Tananbaum, executive chairman of CBC, a non-bank lender
for the retail sector.
Such upbeat
takes suggest that retailers expect the upcoming winter holiday season could
help them overcome what has been a somewhat muted back-to-school season.
Retailers such as Walmart and Gap Inc have seen strong sales of apparel, but others
including Aeropostale Inc
have seen a soft start.
Or maybe not:
"Walmart Brings Layaway Back Early, Tweaks Fees" (Reuters)
Walmart is
bringing back layaway a month early, giving U.S. shoppers under economic
pressure more time to pay for holiday gifts, and will refund related fees
with gift cards once payments are completed.
Layaway, which
allows a customer to keep a product on hold at the store and pay for it over
time, helped boost holiday sales for Walmart when
it brought the service back in 2011 after a five-year hiatus.
Offering
layaway helps retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc
win over shoppers without access to credit. Walmart
U.S., Wal-Mart's largest unit, also offers check cashing and other services
as it tries to appeal to shoppers without bank accounts.
Walmart's holiday
layaway service will begin on September 16, it said on Monday. Last year it
began on October 17.
"The
customer was saying if they had two more pay cycles that really would be
helpful for them," said Walmart U.S. Chief
Merchandising and Marketing Officer Duncan Mac Naughton.
The longer
layaway plan comes after Wal-Mart said it saw more incidents of consumers
living paycheck-to-paycheck during the latest quarter.
Michael J. Panzner
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