Bob Phibbs, the Retail Doctor® blog at Retaildoc.com

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Well, they got it wrong again,  some 75 percent of retailers beat analysts’ estimates. Pity those talking heads, the doom & gloomers anxious to be seen as smart and savvy missed it –  again – retail sales increased. In my white paper which I created last fall I predicted the same stories would repeat with a herald of “whoops” in January and for the 10th out of 11 years, they got it wrong. (You can still download the proof here.)

Maybe you remember the article in Forbes from December 3, “Economists say depressed spending could persist for several years amid stubbornly high unemployment.” Or as recently as December 14 in a USA Today article, “Only 35% of consumers surveyed over the weekend said they would shop in the week after Christmas, according to survey questions posed by America’s Research Group on behalf of Reuters.  Last year, 38% said they planned to shop after Dec. 25. Over the past decade, 48% to 55% typically said they planned to shop in that week, America’s Research founder Britt Beemer said.”

Source: Wall Street Journal

Yet in the light of day? Oh, gee most retailers had increases in December.  For example, Bed Bath & Beyond Same-store sales rose 7.3%, margins rose to 41.1% from 38.9%.

It wasn’t just the new darling of the media the Dollar stores that increased – even Neiman and Nordstom – hardly the “value” brands of discounting.  While reports of only electronics having increases and apparel the worst performers for December, the strongest growth came from apparel chains that cater to both adults and teenagers.  Who knew?

Let the pundits go crazy taking shots again at these figures saying they, “Don’t matter.”  They do. Get ready for a comeback, not to 2005-7 levels but to those who want them, the customers are out there. Shopping. Luxury. Premium.

Go get ‘em!

To get ready for the comeback, pre-order the new book from Wiley  the Retail Doctor’s Guide to Growing Your Business

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