CLEVELAND–Black Friday led the way to a “rebound” in U.S. retail sales of major appliances, according to survey results from Longbow Research.
The “rebound” the research firm uncovered from its monthly survey of manufacturers took the form of a decline in sales in the mid-single digits year over year, an improvement over the industry’s “dismal” October results, the company said in a statement issued this morning. Absent the gains made on Black Friday, November sales would have registered a drop in the high teens.
David MacGregor, analyst for Longbow Research, said Black Friday’s sales of appliances “exceeded expectations for virtually everyone in the industry. Highly discounted promotions captured consumers’ attention and resulted in stockouts in certain SKUs.” However, MacGregor, added, appliances sales and store traffic have reverted to their slower, pre-Black Friday levels since then.
Although appliances manufacturers have set price increases of from 8 to 10 percent, retailers have shown themselves unlikely to purchase new inventory in advance, MacGregor said. “This represents additional cause for caution in forecasting 4Q-08 manufacturers’ shipments, but obviously bodes moderately well for January wholesale volumes,” he said.
