Good afternoon everyone,
We’ll hear more in the coming days about Cyber Monday and Black Friday sales. We do know that online sales increased at double-digit rates this year with Big Box giants Walmart and Target faring well.
FirstServ, a company that handles credit card transactions reported brick and mortar store sales were up 4.2 percent from a year ago. Shoppers also traveled further this year to find a good deal.
Retailers were aggressive with deals, thanks to a shorter selling season this year, with Thanksgiving falling near the end of the month.
We did not see aerial photos of packed parking lots at Christiana Mall, but reports indicated that business was healthy. It reflects the trend seen in recent years of top-tier malls like Christiana and King of Prussia continuing to attract customers, with second and third-tier properties not faring as well.
Also, in the mix is the “retail apocalypse,” a term that popped up last year as mid-sized retailers end up in Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington and elsewhere.
Calling 2018 an apocalypse year may have been premature as the numbers actually showed an increase in the number of retail locations. That changed in 2019 as the number of store closings proved to be more than double the number of openings.
The long-running decline of Sears and Kmart continues with the last Kmart in sales tax-free Delaware in the Rehoboth area slated to close next year. Kmarts in Pike Creek and Bear are now holding going out of business sales.
Online sales still represent less than 25 percent of overall sales. While that category has grown steadily over the years, its growth does not fully explain the wave of closings
Analysts point to a long-running glut of women’s fashion retailers. Mid-sized chains are also caught in the crosshairs, with regional arts and crafts player A.C. Moore packing it in.
Here’s to a productive Tuesday.
If this email newsletter was forwarded to you, sign up for your own copy at no cost with a free subscription that includes no sponsored Emails or promotional materials that can pile up in your “In Box.” – Doug Rainey, chief content officer.
