Economy Shows Slowed Growth Leading into Black Friday
Mint.com Data Shows Decelerating Growth After Rebounding in 2009 Season
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
The tides may have turned since the depths of the Great Recession, but
shopping hasn't rebounded back entirely. Those are among the results of
an analysis
of year-over-year spending data from Mint.com (www.mint.com),
a leading online
personal finance service from Intuit Inc. (Nasdaq:INTU).
"Last year, the data we tracked showed that most retailers had climbed
out of the hole the 2008 recession had created in their preholiday
sales," said Stew Langille, director of marketing for Intuit Personal
Finance Group. "This year, it seems clear that while there was a
distinct rebound, growth has decelerated and we haven't returned to
prerecession spending. We've hit a new normal and it will be interesting
to see what the holiday season brings."
Mint.com examined the same group of retailers as it did last year, which
are representative of discretionary shopping categories, to see how
American spending is changing. The group was selected from among more
than 13,000 national retailers. All were top performers in the third
quarter 2009, based on average monthly spend per user. This year's data
looks at Q1-Q3 2010, vs. where each company stood at this time last
year, and includes:
-
Aeropostale — The clothing retailer grew 10 percent last year
from its 2008 low, and grew again in 2010, up an additional 6.8
percent.
-
Best Buy — The electronics retailer recovered last year from a
decline of 7 percent during the 2008 recession to show 1 percent
growth. This year, the company is up an additional 4.1 percent.
-
Fry's — Fry's trailed competitor Best Buy dramatically in its
recovery last year, but this year shows a 6.9 percent increase.
-
J.Crew — The clothing retailer showed 4 percent year-over-year
growth in 2009, and looks strong heading into the holidays with a 9.2
percent increase in spending.
-
Sears — The department store's sales last year showed 8 percent
year-over-year growth, after falling off 10 percent at its recession
low. This year the company posts growth again, with a 6.4 percent
increase.
-
Target — One of the only retailers that remained down in 2009,
reporting a 4 percent year-over-year decline, Target now posts 4.7
percent growth over last year.
Battening Down the Hatches
Each retailer saw most aggressive growth in the first half of 2010, with
a universal drop in the third quarter as shoppers prepared for the
onslaught of holiday shopping.
"People seem to be tightening their belts and saving up for holiday
shopping by being more prudent in the months leading into the season,"
said Langille. "Though some of the retailers saw double-digit growth in
the first half of this year, spending has ratcheted back across the
board, in some cases dipping below where it stood at this time last
year. We'll check back after Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales to see
if this prediction pans out."
About Mint.com
Mint.com is a leading online
personal finance service from Intuit Inc. (Nasdaq:INTU), providing
over 4 million users a fresh, easy and intelligent way to manage their
money. And it's free. Launched in September 2007, Mint.com has quickly
grown to track nearly $200 billion in transactions and $50 billion in
assets and has identified more than $300 million in potential savings
for its users. Mint.com's innovation is in applying advanced technology
to deliver breakthrough ease-of-use. Using patent-pending technology and
proprietary algorithms, Mint.com allows users to see all their financial
accounts in one place, makes it easy to set and keep to budgets, and
helps identify money saving ideas. Mint.com is so effective that more
than 90 percent of users say they have changed their financial habits as
a result of using the service. For more information on Mint.com's free
online personal finance service, please visit http://www.mint.com
and follow Mint.com on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mint.
About Intuit Inc.
Intuit
Inc. is a leading provider of business and financial management
solutions for small and mid-sized businesses; financial institutions,
including banks and credit unions; consumers and accounting
professionals. Its flagship products and services, including QuickBooks®,
Quicken®
and TurboTax®,
simplify small business management and payroll
processing, personal finance, and tax preparation and filing. ProSeries®
and Lacerte®
are Intuit's leading tax preparation offerings for professional
accountants. Intuit Financial Services helps banks and credit unions
grow by providing on-demand solutions and services that make it easier
for consumers and businesses to manage their money.
Founded in 1983, Intuit had annual revenue of $3.5 billion in its fiscal
year 2010. The company has approximately 7,700 employees with major
offices in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, India and
other locations. More information can be found at www.intuit.com.
Note to Editors: Mint.com will pull equivalent data during the
first week of December to determine which retailers take the early lead
in the holiday shopping season, and help gauge the success of various
promotions. Sales numbers can be sorted by merchant and by city, state
or region. To obtain a copy, e-mail: martha@atomicpr.com.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=6523829&lang=en
Atomic PR for Mint
Martha Shaughnessy, 415-593-1400
martha@atomicpr.com
Source: Mint.com
News Provided by Acquire Media
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