Evening star., 1949-12-02
Stores Expect
Large Volume
OF YuIe Sales
Several More Shops
Remaining Open on
Thursday Nights

washington apparently is mead
ed for one of the most prosperous
Christmas shopping seasons in its
history.
This is the opinion of spokes-
men for organized retail estab.
lishments of the city, based or
their own experience and reports
from the Federal Reserve System
ut looks now as if we will have
one of the biggest Christmas sea.
sons we ever had" declared Ed.
ward D. Shaw, executive .secre.
tary of the Merchants and Manu-
facturers' Association.
Business is going strong here In
sales of clothing, housewares. fur
niture, electrical appliances and
some other specialties, Mr.. Shaw
said.
Toys of Better Quality.
In the field of electrical devices
and toys, he explained, the mar
ket now is offering a greater vol
ume, variety and better quality
than at any time since the end OF
the war.
One factor increasing sales, II
was explained, is that many spe-
cialty stores are staying. open
Thursday nights. Reports to the
Merchants and Manufacturers
Association indicate that these
extra night shopping hours are
not reducing the daylight busi-
ness.
Several more speciality shops
began opening Thursday nights
for the first time last night. An
estimated $50 stores have been OBJ
serving this practice since last
spring.
Philip M. Talbot, chairman of
the department store division OF
the association, said he felt busi-
ness will be as good as last year.
Prices are down in some goods,
he explained. however, which
would mean that it will take a
greater volume of sales to produce
the same dollar volume as last
year.
Customers are swinging back to
the old prewar tradition of buy
ing most of their Christmas pres
ents after Thanksgiving, he said
and December already has shown
results of this trend.
Far Ahead of Baltimore.
Reports to the Federal Reserve
Board from all over the country
indicate that Washington's retail
trade is considerably better than
in most other cities. 1t is far
ahead Of Baltimore. in this Fed
eral Reserve District, for instance
in percentage progress of depart
ment store dollar volume sales.
Dollar volume sales here gained
/ per cent through October, as
compared to Baltimore's per cent
decline. New Orleans showed l
per cent gain; Sacramento, Calf,
per cent gain; Omaha per cent
and Charleston. S. c., 3 per cent;
but declines of 9 per cent were
registered in New York City; 6
per cent in Cleveland, and smaller
drops elsewhere.
The Federal Reserve Board re-
ported today that consumer cred
it-debt arising from retail buying
rang up a new all-time high
throughout the country in Octo-
Der, the month when the coal and
steel strikes were going full force
Installment credit accounted
for more than two-thirds of an
October increase that sent total
consumer credit to a $17,187,-
100000 peak.
Automobile buying accounted
for $126, 100000 of a $278,000, ,000
increase in installment credit dur
ing October, rejecting 4 pei
cent rise for that month and the
biggest gain in the credit field
Department store sales, accord
ing to the Federal Reserve, drew
a little closer to their record 194s
pace during the week ended No
vemher 26. They fell per cent
under the same week of last year
but that was an improvement over
the 8 per cent lag of the two
preceding weeks. and a little
better than the 1949 average to
date. That average for the Janu-
ary / to November 26 period is
6 per cent below the correspond
ing part of 1948.
The Richmond Federal Reserve
District, including this city
showed decline of 2 per cent
during the week.