VOA标准英语2013--商场大打折扣 假日购物者仍稀少

 

Despite Deep Discounts, US Malls See Fewer Holiday Shoppers 商场大打折扣 假日购物者仍稀少

Despite deep discounts and longer shopping hours, some malls are reporting fewer consumers and shorter shopping lines in the final days leading up to the Christmas  holiday, an observation corroborated¹ by market research reports.

Analytics firm RetailNext says the number of visits to brick and mortar³ stores fell between five and seven percent, compared to the same weekend last year.

While the numbers might indicate a tough year ahead for retailers⁴, some analysts⁵ say the shopping season is not over yet.

“There’s a few things happening here," said Chris Christopher, director of consumer economics at IHS Global Insight. "One thing is the shift to online.  However  there is one weekend shorter this holiday shopping season than last year.”

All told, Christopher says, this holiday season could turn out to be the weakest since 2009. But the National Retail² Federation⁶ says it’s too early to tell, and that  it plans to stick to its forecast of a 3.9 percent increase over last year, says spokesperson Kathy Grannis.

“Our forecast really is based on an economic expectation, and overall we do feel that retailers are on pace for a healthy holiday season," said Grannis.

The Federation estimates holiday sales between November and December will top 600 billion dollars, including the 13-to-15 percent increase in the number of people who  shopped online this year.

Jason Schlefer, a manager at Best Buy, predicts a surge of last minute shoppers.

“We’ve really seen it ramp⁷ up in the last few days," he said. "So obviously you’re getting people with a heightened sense of urgency.”

For most retailers, the holiday season is crucial, accounting⁸ for as much as 40 percent of a store’s annual profits. Grannis says how retailers fare in that window is  important because it provides a snapshot of the country’s economic health.

“Consumer spending alone contributes nearly 70 percent of the GDP, and we know that the 3.1 trillion dollars that we see from retail is one of the biggest parts of  our growing economy.”

There are more than 3.6 million stores in the United States — employing more than 42 million Americans.

1 corroborated   

v.证实，支持（某种说法、信仰、理论等）( corroborate的过去式 )

参考例句：

• The evidence was corroborated by two independent witnesses. 此证据由两名独立证人提供。
• Experiments have corroborated her predictions. 实验证实了她的预言。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

3 mortar   

n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合

参考例句：

• The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
• The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。

4 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

5 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

6 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

7 ramp   

n.暴怒，斜坡，坡道；vi.作恐吓姿势，暴怒，加速；vt.加速

参考例句：

• That driver drove the car up the ramp.那司机将车开上了斜坡。
• The factory don't have that capacity to ramp up.这家工厂没有能力加速生产。

8 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。