1、 本科毕业论文 外文文献及译文 文献、资料题目： A Seasonal Sales Shift 文献、资料来源： 期刊（著作、网络 等） 文献、资料发表（出版）日期： 2011.06 院 （部）： 商学院 专 业： 工商管理 班 级： 姓 名： 学 号： 指导教师： 翻译日期： 1 外文文献： A Seasonal Sales Shift For Bargain Hunters, Retailers Make Every Day Feel like Christmas For most of us, Christmas in July is a phrase that conjures up
2、images of cool times during summer heat waves or funny themes for a BBQ get-together. But retailers are thinking of something much different. With fears of a renewed recession in the U.S. still in the air, stores across the country continue to be worried about flagging consumer confidence. As a resu
3、lt, consumers spending their days at the beach or camping in the backyard during staycations can now find the type of deep discounts usually offered during the winter holidays. In todays uncertain economic climate, it has bigger implications than ever - both for the retail sectors growth strategies
4、and for consumer spending habits, say Wharton and other business experts. With retailers pushing sales earlier and earlier and consumers waiting later and later to buy, Baker Retailing Initiative managing director Erin Armendinger compares the situation to the childrens game of chicken. Retailers, r
5、unning on lean inventories, have wanted to hold off - for as long as they could - offering the kinds of deep discounts they promoted last year. But their customers have been wary of buying something that wasnt on sale. If they paid full price or got only a minimal discount, they looked silly if the
6、price of the product was marked down dramatically in a sale later. Its this game of who was going to break down first. Its not healthy for either side. Playing up the Value Equation The game might not be over. Retail sales for July were down 0.2% from June, seasonally adjusted and excluding auto, ga
7、s and restaurant spending, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF). Current data on the economy is mixed, which signals that retailers will continue planning with caution, Jack Kleinhenz, NRFs chief economist, said in a news release. 2 Chains, including Target, Home Depot and Lowes, report
8、ed jumps in profit for the second quarter, but the gains came despite weaker-than-expected revenue. Wal-Mart Stores experienced a 3.6% increase in second quarter earnings, while raising its annual profit forecast. But sales at U.S. stores open for at least a year dropped 1.8% during that time, the f
9、ifth consecutive quarterly decline in a metric that is considered an important test of a retailers performance. Heading into a season considered crucial to their balance sheets, retailers planning could include more markdowns. And, adds Hoch, the shift to earlier and earlier seasonal bargains is spr
10、ead across the entire retail sector. Virtually every retailer - whether a luxury department store or a value retailer - is trying to play up the value equation. Consumers expect that, he adds. There has to be some sort of a value proposition built into a product. That proposition may be more for the
11、 money or it may be better quality. While most retailers think that delivering value is synonymous with providing good customer service, there is also an element of one-upmanship between rivals in the sector. If you dont make a big markdown and someone else does, youre in trouble, Hoch notes. You ha
12、ve to do it. At a time like this, you will probably see more of it, just because consumers expect it. But those habits can ensnare retailers in a trap, cautions Stevan Buxbaum, executive vice-president of California-based retail consultancy Buxbaum Group. If one chain moves its sale three days ahead
13、, then a competitor will jump a week ahead. Then they go 10 days ahead, and you go two weeks ahead . and it just keeps going. Next years Christmas season will start in the middle of January clearance at the rate they are going. The danger is that the continuous sales and markdowns often do more harm
14、 than good, putting retailers in a position where they might have sold more units than a year ago, but for less money. The Other Big Season The summer sales are not just providing early Christmas deals for bargain hunters. Consumers are also are taking advantage of them for back-to-school shopping. We are encouraged by the fact that parents are eager to start their back-to-school shopping early this year, but the industry
