(In the) Black Christmas
By Staff -- Gifts & Decorative Accessories, 5/1/2006
Fourth quarter sales continue to grow steadily, even as the importance of holiday sales to making a profit at retail diminishes. Thanks in part to gift cards moving money into the following year, but also to changing shopping patterns, shoppers are buying more product year-round compared to what they spend on Christmas. Still, things haven't changed too dramatically: winter holidays continue to dominate holiday spending, Christmas dominates holiday decorating, and although electronics, personal care and e-commerce are all growing, the biggest share of gift-giving gelt still goes to an old standby, jewelry.
