By Connor Hart and Nicholas G. Miller

Retailers offered more signals that U.S. consumers remain resilient, providing a tentatively upbeat readout of shopper health as Black Friday sales blanket the retail landscape.

Abercrombie & Fitch, Best Buy, Dick's Sporting Goods and Kohl's all raised their outlooks for the current year, after sales in recent quarters largely held up or improved more than forecast. Discount retailer Burlington Stores said its sales picked up in recent weeks, after a lull following the back-to-school season and warmer-than-expected weather in some markets.

The outlooks reflect shoppers' willingness to spend across categories, whether upgrading wardrobes, electronics or sports equipment. The results also point to momentum for retailers in the critical homestretch up until Christmas, even if some uncertainty lingers, and piggyback on similarly strong results from others including Walmart, Gap and T.J. Maxx parent TJX.

"It's hard to bet against the U.S. consumer. They are resilient, and they find ways to innovate and spend," Mickey Chadha, vice president and senior credit officer at Moody's Investors Service, said Tuesday. "They might spend on a different product, they might find a better deal or they might find a better value. But they find ways to overcome."

Best Buy executives said that consumers are willing to purchase some new tech products, including items such as the Nintendo Switch 2 and smartphones, and are upgrading personal computers, in part as some older PCs no longer support the latest Microsoft Windows operating system.

Consumers are also searching for deals, with many still wary of making some bigger-ticket purchases. "Customers remain resilient, but deal-focused and attracted to more predictable sales moments," Best Buy CEO Corie Barry said.

Dick's said that shoppers are coming into their stores more frequently and spending more per visit, helping same-store sales at its flagship brand rise 5.7% in the latest quarter. Sales have been strong across apparel and sports equipment, as well as in areas like trading cards, giving executives at the chain confidence for the current quarter.

"We are really bullish on the holiday," Dick's Chief Executive Lauren Hobart said. "We are just balancing that with an appropriate level of caution as we always do."

Elsewhere in retail, Abercrombie & Fitch is enjoying a string of strong quarterly sales growth, with the latest 7% sales increase driven by its Hollister brand. Chief Executive Fran Horowitz said the company has healthy inventory and strong marketing plans heading into the holiday season, after the retailer used the past few quarters to test out its assortment and positioning.

Kohl's, meanwhile, showed that its turnaround is generating progress by several measures, with its latest quarter's sales decline less than feared. The company also turned in an unexpected profit.

Michael Bender, who on Monday was named Kohl's permanent CEO, said the department store chain is in good shape in terms of inventory levels across key categories, including apparel, home goods and toys, and that he expects a holiday period marked by deals.

"The holidays are always a promotional time period, and we expect this to continue this year, especially given the state of the consumer," Bender said.

Off-price retailers such as Burlington are positioned in a sweet spot for cautious consumers hunting for deals. Chief Executive Michael O'Sullivan said despite sales coming in softer-than-expected, in part due to weather patterns, he sees promising signs.

"Given the economic uncertainty and the cost of living issues, we've been concerned about lower-income customers," O'Sullivan said. "But the good news is that this customer has been very resilient."

Write to Connor Hart at connor.hart@wsj.com and Nicholas G. Miller at nicholas.miller@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 25, 2025 12:06 ET (17:06 GMT)

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