High unemployment and economic anxiety will weigh on consumers, keeping sales well below last year's 4.1% gain, Deloitte says.
Retailers offered omnichannel sales earlier in the season, "meeting consumers’ demand for the best deals across all channels and devices."
“Despite the late start to the holiday season, U.S. consumers were in a festive mood, suggesting the backbone of the economy remains rock solid."
"The rising tide of the economy is not floating all retail boats,” an analyst says of the department store chains' disappointing sales growth.
The retailer has been one of Wall Street's hottest stocks this year but investors may be jittery over promotional spending for the holiday season.
A report by eMarketer predicts a 6% surge to $1.002 trillion in holiday spending this year, the biggest gain since 2011.
The company's revenue projection for the holiday season fueled concerns that slowing growth "could translate into a new growth paradigm.”
If the refinancing effort is not successful, the company "will consider all other options" to maximize asset value.
The Christmas period results give "some validation to Target’s expensive plan to improve stores, delivery logistics, and customer service."
The company predicts a record holiday season after strong domestic and international shipping demand over Thanksgiving.
The retailer posted a 4.7% increase in same-store sales and is "well on track" to meet its target of a mid-single digit gain for the year.
The 1.1% drop in comp sales for Q3 was a relief to investors and Target now forecasts as much as a 1% increase for the next quarter.
