In the United States, the year-end shopping season began in earnest on the 25th, after the Thanksgiving holiday.
Amid concerns about the impact of inflation on consumption, there are moves to attract customers with significant discounts this year.
In the United States, the Friday after Thanksgiving is called Black Friday because it is so busy that every store is in the black.
Among them, at a long-established department store in New York, a large number of shoppers formed a line before the store opened at 6:00 a.m., and entered one after another as soon as the store opened.
A woman who bought a jacket at this department store said, "I always come to buy on Black Friday. I got a 60% discount on the product, and it was a very good sale."
The National Retailers Association expects holiday sales to rise 6% to 8% from this month through next month compared to the same period last year, citing strong consumer spending.
However, there are concerns about the impact of record inflation on personal consumption, and it has been pointed out that there is a growing tendency to prioritize the purchase of daily necessities such as food.
For this reason, there is a move to attract customers and secure sales by bringing forward sales or offering significant discounts this year at home appliance mass retailers in New York.
In the United States, significant interest rate hikes are continuing to curb the prolonged inflation, and attention is focused on how much it will affect consumption, which influences the economy.
Consumption is steady, but some may be refraining from buying
The rate of increase in the US consumer price index last month was 7.7% compared to the same month last year, slowing for the fourth straight month, but compared to the previous month, it was 0.4%, and prices has not stopped rising.
On the other hand, despite the ongoing inflation, retail sales last month were 1.3% higher than the previous month, and consumption remained strong.
However, sales of items other than daily necessities have declined, and among them, "electronic equipment and home appliances" decreased by 0.3% compared to the previous month.
Hobbies, sporting goods, and books also decreased by 0.3% from the previous month, suggesting that some people are refraining from purchasing.
During the year-end sales season this year, the impact of supply constraints due to the spread of the new coronavirus will fade, and inventories of personal computers and toys, etc. will increase, so it is predicted that the discount rate will be a record size. .