Retail Relief: Black Friday Stretch Sparks Cheer

Holiday selling is proceeding according to script, with consumers shopping online and in stores Thursday through Saturday at levels that supported widespread forecasts for seasonal sales gains averaging in the 4 percent range. For now at least, the industry mood remains upbeat and the economy strong, although there are concerns about the shorter calendar — six fewer shopping days between Thanksgiving and Christmas than last year — and intensified promoting impacting fourth-quarter margins. Also, the robust growth in online sales continues to come at the expense of brick-and-mortar retail businesses. The Neiman Marcus Group reported increased traffic in all of its online and off-line properties for Black Friday. “Our customers were delighted by our overall experiences and we saw major interest within our ladies’ shoes, contemporary, men’s, and beauty departments,” Geoffroy van Raemdonck, NMG’s chief executive officer, told WWD. “Our associates were connecting with customers throughout the day not only in-store, but through text and our digital customer tool. Black Friday was also one of our biggest demand days online since we launched our web site in 1999….We plan to continue offering competitive and personalized offers on Cyber Monday and through the rest of the holiday season.” “We’ve had a very positive start to

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