Retail: Sandy threatens holiday shopping
Hurricane Sandy’s aftermath could put a major dent in what was predicted to be a “rosy holiday shopping season,” said Dana Hunsinger Benbow in The Indianapolis Star.The states directly hit by last week’s super-storm account for about 16 percent of all holiday spending nationwide, said retail expert Richard Feinberg, who this week downgraded his prediction of a 4 percent increase in holiday retail sales this year to between 2 and 3 percent. Department stores, toy retailers, and apparel shops will fare the worst. “Consumers will be suffering from what we might call post-Sandy traumatic stress,” he said, “which will lower their inclination to spend.”
The storm hit retailers “at a crucial time,” said Stephanie Clifford and Nelson D. Schwartz in The New York Times. Shuttered shipping terminals, submerged warehouses, closed roads, and scarce gasoline have caused delaysjust when retailers expected their final shipments for the holiday shopping season. While some of New York’s marine terminals have reopened, retailers rangingfrom Amazon to Diane von Furstenberg have warned customers of delayed orders because of the backup. “Things are slowing down,” said Chris Merritt of the trucking company Ryder. “This whole part of the supply chain is clogged up.”
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