(December 1, 2008)—The weekend wasn't a complete disaster as some retailers feared, but Thanksgiving shopping weekend sales are looking like they met the low end of expectations, at best, thanks to tempered spending by consumers and unprecedented deep discounts.
Now, the nation's merchants are struggling to find other tricks to entice financially strapped shoppers.
Industry analyst Marshal Cohen says the message from consumers is they want even better deals and they're willing to wait for them.
Cohen said he expects retailers will be offering more two-for-one deals.
While the crowds did come out to buy, many analysts say they were thinner than last year, and according to some accounts, the pre-dawn buying binge fell off sharply during the rest of the weekend.
ShopperTrak RCT is expected to release data for the combined Friday and Saturday period later in the day.
Clearly economic woes played a key role in how shoppers bought this weekend.
The managers of Dillard's and Macy's departments stores at Greenspoint Mall in north Houston both said weekend crowds met expectations, though shoppers seemed to be more bargain-hungry than in recent years.
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