Page 13 - aruba-today-20231124

BUSINESS Friday 24 November 2023
A13

Retailers are ready to kick off Black Friday just as HEALTH

shoppers pull back on spending DOCTOR ON DUTY

Oranjestad
By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO will be discounted on av-
AP Retail Writer erage by 35%, compared Hospital 7:00 pm / 10:00pm
Tel. 527 4000
NEW YORK (AP) — Retail- with 22% a year ago, while
ers are kicking off the un- electronics should see 30% San Nicolas
official start of the holiday cuts, compared with last Imsan 24 hours
shopping season on Friday year's 27%. In clothing, Tel.524 8833
with a bevy of discounts shoppers will see an aver- Women in Difficulties
and other enticements. age discount of 25%, com- PHARMACY ON DUTY
But executives are growing pared with 19% last year, Oranjestad:
concerned with a spend- Adobe said. Trupiaal: Tel. 583 8560
ing slowdown that could Analysts consider the five- San Nicolas: Tel. 584 5712
temper sales on the day day Black Friday week-
after Thanksgiving as well end — which includes the Women in Difficulties
as throughout the holidays. Monday after the holiday OTHER
Shoppers, powered by known as Cyber Mon- Dental Clinic 587 9850
a solid job market and day — a key barometer Blood Bank Aruba 587 0002
Urgent Care 586 0448
steady wage growth, had of shoppers' willingness to Walk-In Doctor’s Clinic
demonstrated a resilience A sign announces Black Friday specials on luggage sets inside spend. And Black Friday +297 588 0539
that confounded econo- a Macy's department store on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023, in Den- is expected to be once Women in Difficulties
mists and ran counter to ver. Retailers are kicking off the unofficial start of the holiday again the busiest shopping EMERGENCY
shopping season on Friday with a bevy of discounts and other
sour sentiments expressed enticements. day of the year, according Police 100
in opinion polls. Such (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) to Sensormatic Solutions, a Oranjestad 527 3140
spending, while cautious, rise 3% to 4% for November pears to be a trend that firm that tracks store traf- Noord 527 3200
came despite higher pric- through December, com- only got more pronounced fic. On average, the top Sta. Cruz 527 2900
es in the grocery aisle and pared with a 5.4% growth during the pandemic when 10 busiest shopping days San Nicolas 584 5000
higher borrowing costs. of a year ago. The pace clogs in the supply network in the U.S are expected to Police Tipline 11141
911
Ambulancia
But consumers are now is consistent with the av- in 2021 made people buy once again account for Fire Dept. 115
coming under more pres- erage annual holiday in- early for fear of not getting roughly 40% of all holiday Red Cross 582 2219
sure from dwindling sav- crease of 3.6% from 2010 to what they wanted. retail traffic, Sensormatic
ings, increased credit card pre-pandemic 2019. Amer- But retailers said that many said. TAXI SERVICES
debt and still stubborn in- icans ramped up spend- shoppers will be focus- Stores have been increas- Taxi Tas 587 5900
flation. In fact, shoppers ing during the pandemic, ing more on deals and will ingly pushing Black Friday- Prof. Taxi 588 0035
Taxi D.T.S.
587 2300
cut their buying in Octo- with more money in their likely wait until the last min- type deals all month, help- Taxi Serv. Aruba 583 3232
ber, ending six straight pockets from federal relief ute. Best Buy said it's push- ing to perk up business.q A1 Taxi Serv. 280 2828
months of gains. Shoppers checks and nowhere to go ing more items at opening Women in Difficulties
have gotten some relief during lockdowns. For the price points, while Kohl's TRAVEL INFO
from easing inflation, but holiday 2021 season, sales has simplified its deals, pro-
many goods and services for the two-month period moting items under a cer- Aruba Airport 524 2424
like meat and rent are still surged 12.7%. tain price point like $25 at American Airlines 582 2700
far higher than they were Many retailers had already its stores. Avianca 588 0059
588 2244
Jet Blue
just three years ago. ordered fewer goods for Online discounts should be Surinam 582 7896
The latest quarterly results this holiday season and better than a year ago, Women in Difficulties
from a string of retailers have pushed holiday sales particularly for toys, elec-
from Walmart to Best Buy earlier in October than tronics and clothing, ac- AID FOUNDATIONS
have reported a weaken- last year to help shoppers cording to Adobe Ana- FAVI- Visually Impaired
ing consumer. Walmart spread out their spending. lytics, which tracks online Tel. 582 5051
said it noticed shoppers An early shopping push ap- spending. It predicts toys Alcoholics Anonymous
cutting back in October Tel. 736 2952
and offered a muted an- Narcotics Anonymous
nual sales outlook. Best Tel. 583 8989
Buy, the nation's largest Fundacion Contra Violencia
Relacional Tel. 583 5400
retailer, said shoppers are Centre for Diabetes
trading down to cheaper Tel. 524 8888
TVs. And Target said shop- Child Abuse Prevention
pers are waiting longer to Tel. 582 4433
buy items. For example, in- Quota Club Tel. 525 2672
stead of buying sweatshirts Women in Difficulties
or denim back in August or General Info
September, they held out Phone Directory Tel. 118
until the weather turned
cold.
The National Retail Fed-
eration, the nation's largest
retail trade group, expects
shoppers will spend more
this year than last year, but
their pace will slow given
all the economic uncer-
tainty.
The group has forecast
that U.S. holiday sales will facebook.com/arubatoday/