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Britt Beemer America's Research Group articles most recent first Beemer Predicts Retail Train Wreck Consumers Postponing Major Purchases; Jewelry Hardest Hit Furniture Buying Index Falls in May Consumers Shift Spending To What They Need, Not What They Want Furniture Buying Index Drops Two More Points; Wal Mart Expands Home Furnishings In Midst of Sluggish Furniture Sales Beemer - Many Retailers In Free Fall After Disappointing December August Retail Sales Surge; Home Furnishings, Accessories Lag behind Expert Predicts Back-to-School Spending to Grow Meagerly in 2007 Retail Shopping Takes A Holiday Early Indications Are For A Frugal First Quarter Independent Retailers Outperformed Chain Stores In December Britt Beemer Lowers Forecast of Christmas Retail Sales to 2.7% Rise Over Last Year; Lack of “Must Have” Item to Blame Want To Drive Shoppers Away? Decorate Stores Less and Don’t Say “Merry Christmas” 2006 Q4 Shoppers Study Revealing; Cyber Monday a Hoax, Biggest Retail Push Will Be After December 15th 10 Trends For Retail Christmas 2006 Survey; Parents Cite High Gas Prices As Primary Reason For Limiting Back To School Spending Families Reduce Summer Spending As Gas Prices Rise Or Was It? New Survey Casts Doubt On Rosie Black Friday Survey; Bargain Hunters Drive June Results Top 10 Retail Stores For April; Discounts Drive Traffic Survey Says Americans Extremely Optimist About The Future 37% Of Shoppers Noticed Less Christmas Decorations In Stores; Spent Less As A Result America’s Research Group; Shopping Levels Increasing But Still Expected To Be Lackluster 3.2% Over 2003 Lack Of Hot New Product Weighing Heavily On Holiday Shopping Survey Of Thanksgiving Weekend Shoppers; "We're Not Impressed"; 45% Say Discounts Not Enough Britt Beemer’s Christmas 2004 Sales Forecast; 19% Will Spend More Since Bush Was Reelected Seven Things Your Store’s Appearance Tells Your Customers Britt Beemer Cites Convenience As Key To Drawing Male Shoppers Beemer Lowers Christmas Sales Projection to 4.2% Increase This Year Compared To His Earlier 4.8% Sales Increase survey 31.0% of Americans Who Planned to Shop Thanksgiving Weekend Did Not Get Around To It Study Shows 11% Increase In Consumer Spending For Appliance, Electronics, Computers Britt Beemer Predicts 4.8% Increase In Holiday Spending survey Furniture Leads All Categories For Shopping Levels Over Labor Day Weekend survey Consumers Plan to Spend 10% More on Back to School Furniture Buying Index Up One Point Buying furniture is on consumers’ minds, but not a top priority Shopping Is Not a Big Priority for Many Americans The Incredible Shrinking Customer Base How Loyal is Your Customer? The Loyalty American Consumers Have Towards Brand Products

What makes 2005 different is that 73% of Friday’s shoppers were finished by noon – the highest number in the last six years
C. Britt Beemer, CEO and founder of ARG

Bargain hunters loved the early bird specials last Friday, and 91.3% of them were able to take advantage of the big discounts starting early in the morning following Thanksgiving, according to a survey of weekend shoppers conducted by American’s Research Group (ARG).

Three out of the four consumers, who said in earlier ARG surveys that they planned to shop Thanksgiving weekend, did so. This was the best result since 2002, when Friday was the biggest shopping day of the year.

“What makes 2005 different is that 73% of Friday’s shoppers were finished by noon – the highest number in the last six years,” said C. Britt Beemer, CEO and founder of ARG. Shoppers also went to very few stores on Friday, according to Beemer, with three in four going to only four stores or less.

Four out of five shoppers who bought over the weekend saw the item advertised, which motivated them to buy, the ARG survey found. Video games were much more popular this year with 26% of consumers buying video games before other items, compared to 5.6% last year.

Since gas prices have dropped, 28.7% of consumers say they will spend more, but only 33.5% will spend $100 or more on themselves, compared to over 55% who planned to do so five years ago.

America’s Research Group’s Christmas sales projection is 3.0% over last year. Beemer accurately forecasted retail sales at Christmas in 11 out of the last 12 years, coming within a half of one percent in each case, according to ARG.

The research study of 719 consumers nationwide who planned to shop on Thanksgiving weekend was conducted November 25 to 27. The error factor is +/-3.2%. America’s Research Group is the consumer research-focused business development firm that provides clients the insight, strategy and tactics to increase market share. America’s Research Group’s expertise in consumer behavior has made it a key resource and advisor to leading brands and top retailers in the nation for 25 years.