ECONOMICS REPORT - Holiday Shopping Season in the U.S.

ECONOMICS REPORT - Holiday Shopping Season in the U.S.
By Mario Ritter

Broadcast: Friday, December 03, 2004

I'm Gwen Outen with the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Almost one-fourth of all personal spending in the United States takes place during the holiday season. There are gifts to give this month for Christmas, Hanukkah and the African American celebration of Kwanzaa. The traditional shopping season began last Friday, after Thanksgiving Day. Personal spending represents two-thirds of the economy, so holiday sales are especially important.

Reports on November results have just come out. Major sellers, especially lower-priced ones, had mostly moderate gains at stores open at least a year. Wal-Mart was up just seven-tenths of one percent. Wal-Mart is the biggest seller in the world. The company had expected growth of two to four percent in November, fueled by sales on "Black Friday."

The day after Thanksgiving is called that. Storekeepers used to record profits in black ink and losses in red ink. A day in the black means a return to profit.

But for this Black Friday, Wal-Mart decided¹ not to cut prices as aggressively on some goods as other stores did. Wal-Mart says it has learned from this and will listen more to its customers this holiday season.

Businesses also listen to the Consumer Confidence Index to get an idea of how Americans feel about the economy. Many economists² expected an increase in consumer confidence in November. But the Conference Board, a private group, says the index fell again for a fourth month.

The National Retail³ Federation⁴ estimated in September that holiday sales would increase four and one-half percent this year. Holiday sales increased five percent last year, after poor sales the year before.

The business group estimated that Americans will spend two hundred twenty thousand million dollars this season. It says they spent just over ten percent of that last weekend.

Also, it says more Americans for the first time this season plan to use a debit⁵ card than a credit card for purchases. A debit card, also called a check card, is linked to the money that a person has in a bank. In other words, users must have the money before they can spend it.

About thirty-five percent of shoppers said they would mainly use debit cards, compared to thirty percent for credit cards. Financial experts say this change might mean that more people want to keep to a budget this holiday season.

This VOA Special English Economics Report was written by Mario Ritter. This is Gwen Outen.

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

4 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

5 debit   

n.借方，借项，记人借方的款项

参考例句：

• To whom shall I debit this sum?此款应记入谁的账户的借方？
• We undercharge Mr.Smith and have to send him a debit note for the extra amount.我们少收了史密斯先生的钱，只得给他寄去一张借条所要欠款。