紐時賞析／美國假期消費狂熱 危機四伏

Discounts And Debt Are Powering Holiday Season

美國假期消費狂熱 危機四伏

American consumers are spending more this holiday season, as retailers lure them with bargains. The search for bigger discounts isn’t just seasonal, though.

美國消費者在今年假期花費更多，零售商以折扣吸引購買。但追求更大幅度折扣已不再只是季節性現象。

A record 203 million consumers shopped during the Thanksgiving weekend, according to the National Retail Federation. More than $44 billion was spent online from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday, up about 8% from last year, data from Adobe Analytics showed.

全美零售聯合會表示，今年感恩節周末共有創紀錄的2.03億人購物。奧多比分析公司數據顯示，自感恩節到網購周一期間，線上消費額超過440億美元，比去年多了約8%。

But shoppers struggling with inflation and economic uncertainty have sought out sales and turned to coupon finders and cash-back services throughout the year. Feeling stretched by the ripple effects of tariffs and high interest rates, people are stacking discounts and using “buy now, pay later” at checkout, too.

然而，受通貨膨脹和經濟不確定性困擾，購物者全年都在尋找折扣產品，並轉向尋求優惠券和現金回饋。關稅和高利率產生連鎖反應，民眾感到壓力沉重，因此他們還會疊加折扣並在結帳時使用「先買後付」。

At RetailMeNot, account registrations this year through November jumped 22% from the same period in 2024. Buy-now-pay-later use has also spiked — just Monday, the payment method drove more than $1 billion in online spending, according to Adobe Analytics.

折扣平台RetailMeNot的帳號註冊數截至11月已較2024年同期大增22%。奧多比分析公司指出，先買後付服務的使用量也暴增，僅在周一單日，這種支付方式就促成超過10億美元的線上消費。

The National Retail Federation predicted that retail sales in November and December would exceed $1 trillion for the first time. But that total masks a growing divide in how Americans buy: High-income shoppers are increasing spending at more expensive stores, while middle-income households are turning to value brands.

全美零售聯合會預期，11月和12月的零售銷售額將首度超越1兆美元。但這個總額掩蓋美國人消費方式日益分化：高收入購物者在高單價商店消費增加，中產階級家庭轉向平價品牌。

Visits to value retailers like Burlington Stores, Ross Dress for Less and Walmart have increased this year, according to data from Placer.ai, a company that analyzes foot traffic at stores.

分析門市客流量的公司Placer.ai數據顯示，到訪平價商品的零售商如伯靈頓、Ross Dress for Less和沃爾瑪的客流量今年都增加。

In recent earnings calls, several retailers noted that lower prices were driving business and enticing new customers. Walmart said increased earnings had stemmed in part from the shift toward value items. T.J. Maxx said its lower prices were distinguishing it from competitors.

在近期的法說會中，多間零售商指出，較低價格刺激買氣並吸引新客。沃爾瑪表示，收益增加的來源部分來自民眾轉向平價產品。T.J. Maxx則說，其較低價格使其更具競爭優勢。

At the same time, retailers selling discretionary or luxury items, such as Best Buy and Williams Sonoma, have increased revenue in recent quarters, suggesting that some consumers will still splurge on big-ticket gifts. Macy’s on Wednesday reported better-than-expected sales across its inventory, from discounted items to luxury goods.

同時，販售非必需品或精品的商家，如百思買與Williams Sonoma，近幾季營收也在成長，顯示部分消費者仍願意購買高價禮品。梅西百貨周三表示，從折扣商品到精品類別，各品項銷售皆優於預期。

Even with a slew of discounts, some consumers are still going beyond their means to afford the holidays. In an August survey by Rakuten and Harris Poll, 24% of respondents with an annual household income lower than $50,000 expected to add credit card debt to afford seasonal shopping.

即使折扣滿天飛，部分消費者為了過節仍舊超支。樂天與哈里斯8月民調指出，家戶年收入低於5萬美元的受訪者中，有24%預期會因節慶消費而增加信用卡債。

文／Emmett Lindner，譯／羅方妤

說文解字看新聞

【張佑生】

萬物齊漲，迫使消費者更加精打細算。報導提到的Value brands指高CP值的平價品牌，常見於零售業，如超市自有品牌，跟economy brand同為「省錢神器品牌」。Name brand則是名牌，強調品牌價值與品質認證。

Premium brand是高端品牌，強調奢華與獨特性，常見於精品。Discretionary和luxury items指非必需品／精品。其實，都是品牌策略分類，依所得分層的市場行為(income-segmented markets)，而value brands正成為美國中產家庭的消費主流，形成有錢人越買越貴，中產越買越便宜，消費兩極化(consumption bifurcation)或消費不平等(consumption inequality)的現象。

倒數第二段提到的splurge意指「揮霍」，通常不會買，但為了慶祝某事或想犒賞自己，敗家一下，是美語用法，英語用splash out.例：When the country shifted from wartime to peacetime, Americans were ready to splurge and soon began spending big on new cars, appliances and clothes.介係詞通常用on，可當名詞用：She went on a shopping splurge. （同spree）