Britt Beemer Consumers Quotations

Only a month ago, I felt we could see the first negative selling season in over 20 years, but the drop in gas prices has given consumers a newfound shopping spirit that should sustain them throughout the month of December.

One thing that shocked me was that the number of consumers planning to buy gift cards this Christmas is not as big as last year.

Retail sales were pretty good, considering at the start of the season we were looking at $3 gasoline and were still recovering from the hurricanes. Consumers got out early and responded to early-bird specials, but there wasn't much new. There was no hot toy or hot apparel look.

China has given American consumers the best values they have seen in their lifetime.

I think at least a third of consumers that previously bought her products will abandon the brand. A number higher than that means the brand is dead.

I think consumers want to see a choice.

I see an extremely promotional shopping environment. I've advised my retail clients to be super aggressive Thanksgiving weekend. Retailers don't want to do it from a margin perspective, but otherwise they won't see shoppers in stores. Consumers have less money to spend and they'll take their 'less money' elsewhere.

Over the last couple years, chains have tried to do something different -- they're trying to give consumers a different look, a different style.

Retailers are caught in a 'Catch-22' situation. Their costs, such as transportation costs, are going up and this is not going to change in the short term. Meanwhile, their consumers are going to be extremely deal focused.

There are a number of consumers I've talked to who have given money to hurricane funds in lieu of gifts. Last year luxury retail was the grand slam .... If this shopper cuts back, it will send Wall Street into a spin.

There are a lot of wealthy income consumers that have given a lot of money to hurricane funds, and they're saying they're doing that in lieu of Christmas gifts,

Consumers this year just never got enamored with what they saw.

I've never seen this many consumers not done with their Christmas shopping.

The success of GM's employee discount sale is a great example that consumers still are in a mood to buy. However, I think Christmas spending could be a little narrower than last year.

That number is almost double from last year when only 20 percent of consumers polled has a similar response,

It probably won't mean much lower prices. It's going to obviously give consumers greater convenience, and that's what consumers want with drugstores.

It's hard to escape a week without some negative story about Wal-Mart. Let's look at the facts. Wal-Mart is clearly the number one retailer in America. Average consumers have to buy the products that Wal-Mart sells and they do this each and every week. The consumer isn't interested in the origin of the products purchased as long as merchandise meets their expectations.

Consumers really got a monkey off their back when gas prices came down. I do expect this year that Black Friday will be the biggest (shopping) day of the year.

Consumers might think (restocking fees) are unfair. As long as they feel it's unfair, they'll be less likely to go back to that store.

Consumers love January because January has always been this great clearance month. If they don't see (sales), as they've proved this Christmas, they'll outwait the retailer.

Consumers look around and see (the Home store's) $1,299 sofa and see others for $699 or $799 at other stores and it's a reality check. I find after the hoopla is over, they become retail museums.

Consumers believe that the bigger, better deals happen closer to Christmas, and they're willing to wait. Last year, lots of consumers were disappointed because they didn't see the early discounts. Shoppers are playing a game of cat and mouse, and they're waiting to see if the retailers will outlast them.

I don't think the day is the kind of day that retailers thought it would be. Christmas Eve is seldom the big day because of the fact that so many consumers ... want to be home.

The closer you get to Christmas, there's this mentality on the part of consumers where they're willing to go out just a little bit more to get the even bigger discounts.