The New York State Retail Council has just released sales estimates from the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, and they show a decline compared to last year. The sales were down about 6 to 8 percent. But retail council president Ted Potrikus says it's hard to compare year over year, because the pre-Black Friday sales have been starting earlier and earlier, spreading out the period of time that those sales are adding up.
But in any case, Potrikus says consumers should benefit from a lot of deep discounts.
"That's really driven by the brick and mortar competition which is always tough, but even more so because you're seeing these just outrageous prices and free shipping and free this, that and the other thing coming at you from the internet,” Potrikus told WXXI News.
As far as which items were selling well this past weekend, Potrikus says electronics were once again some of the hottest items.
"It seems to be that way year after year after year because they just keep updating and everybody seems to want the tablet that they can use to go home and shop on the internet, so the tablets, the new phones, the new video games, the latest versions of everything seem to be at the top of everybody's list.”
Nationally, it's estimated holiday sales this season may rise about four percent compared to last year. Potrikus says that is certainly possible in New York State, but he cautions that winter storms and other factors can always influence that number.
