A survey report released by Mastercard Credit Card Consulting Agency stated that sales of clothing and footwear in the U.S. retail market declined significantly in the first two weeks of November due to consumers’ “worry” about the overall economy and the job market.
According to the report, sales of apparel products in the United States fell 19% in the first two weeks of November compared with the same period in 2007. Among them, women’s clothing sales fell by 19.7% year-on-year, and men’s clothing sales fell by 20.5% year-on-year. Sales of clothing products fell by 5.5% and 12.2% year-on-year respectively in September and October. During the same period, U.S. footwear retail sales fell 11% year-on-year.
Michael McNamara, a director of the agency, said: “We have seen retail sales decline for some time, but it began to deteriorate rapidly in the last 10 days of October and continued into November.”
On November 28, the United States will enter the traditional year-end holiday consumption season. The report provides partial forecast reference for year-end consumption trends. According to Reuters, many analysts currently predict that 2008 will be the coldest year-end sales season in the United States in 20 years.
