By Brian E. Clark
WisBusiness.com
In spite of high gas prices and a slumping housing market, Badger State shoppers have hit the stores and their keyboards frequently enough to give retail experts optimism about the holiday shopping season.
Chris Tackett, president and CEO of the Wisconsin Merchants Association, said 68 percent of all shoppers in Wisconsin were out on Black Friday. The national figure was 66 percent for a total of 147 million shoppers – up 5 percent from last year, he said.
Tackett said Badger State retailers won’t know how successful their promotional efforts have been until the last two weeks of December. But he said his group is predicting a spending increase of 4 percent over last year.
He said online spending nationally could hit $39 billion this year, a 20 percent increase over last year.
ShopperTrak RCT, which monitors the retail industry, said sales Friday and Saturday combined increased 7.2 percent, with a dollar total of $16.4 billion nationally.
Through Sunday, Tackett said the average male shopper in Wisconsin had spent $393, while his female counterpart had spent $303. The difference, he said, is because men are buying more expensive electronic products.
In the Midwest, he said 55 percent of shoppers visited discount stores up from 49 percent in 2006. Tackett said 47 percent of shoppers bought clothing and accessories; 42 percent purchased books, videos and CDs; 36 percent bought consumer electronics, 28 percent got toys; and 21 got gift cards.
He estimated one in 12 shoppers has completed holiday shopping, while the rest of us are about a third done, if that.
