VOA标准英语2014--美国零售商对假日销售感到乐观

 

US Retailers² Upbeat About Holiday Sales 美国零售商对假日销售感到乐观

It's make-or-break time for shopping malls across the United States, some of which will make as much as much as 20 percent of their annual profits in the next few weeks. This year, they have reasons to be optimistic.

“Right now, low gas prices, increased consumer confidence, more jobs in the pot — simply put, more paychecks — those factors right now are contributing to a more confident and financially stable consumer,” said Kathy Grannis of the National Retail¹ Federation³.

The federation’s latest survey suggests consumers plan to spend, on average, about $800 per person, or about 5 percent more than they did last year. Some of that money will not be spent at traditional brick-and-mortar stores.  Studies show nearly two-thirds of American consumers will start their holiday shopping online,  checking out the best deals by phone or on their laptops, said retail analyst⁴ Ramesh Swamy.

“In total, digital, including social media, is going to influence 50 cents on every dollar spent in the store," he said. "So consumers are going to be using their tablets⁵, mobile⁶ and other digital channels to actually do a lot of pre-work.”

Holiday e-commerce is projected to rise as much as 14 percent, or just a little more than $100 billion, between now and December.  Gift card purchases are also set to break a record of $31 billion during the holidays. But for the vast majority of shoppers, said Michael Gregory at BMO Capital Markets, it's tough to beat tradition.

“There’s nothing like going out in the holiday season and, you know, going shoulder to shoulder with the crowds — it’s part of the experience," he said. "And I think that’s a key thing for this holiday season. And I think consumers want to have that experience.”

Some of the bigger retail stores plan to take advantage of improving consumer confidence by starting their "Black Friday" specials earlier and spreading their discounts over several days. All told, the National Retail Federation projects a 4.1 percent increase in holiday sales, or about $617 billion, between now and the end of December.

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

5 tablets   

n.药片( tablet的名词复数 )；（木、竹）简；碑；一块肥皂

参考例句：

• The tablets may make you feel drowsy. 这药片可能会使你昏昏欲睡。
• Take two tablets with water before meals. 每次两片，饭前用水冲服。

6 mobile   

adj.可移动的，易变的，机动的；n.运动物体

参考例句：

• The old lady sits on a mobile chair every morning.那位老妇人每天上午坐在一把可携带使用的椅子上。
• She's much more mobile now that she's bought a car.自从她买了汽车后，活动量就大多了。