US retailers slash prices after raking $16 bn in holiday sales
The nation’s retailers were ushering in the post-Christmas shopping season by slashing prices even more on holiday items and stocking up on fresh new merchandise.
By Agencies |
NEW YORK: The nation’s retailers were ushering in the post-Christmas shopping season by slashing prices even more on holiday items and stocking up on fresh new merchandise.
With the 2006 pre-Christmas season turning out to be challenging, the nation’s merchants are hoping that shoppers, armed with gift cards, will spend freely, snapping up discounted items as well as picking up full-priced merchandise, to boost business in December and in the fourth-quarter.
Federated Department Stores’s Macy’s was set to open its doors at 7 am, offering discounts ranging from 50- 75%. Toys ‘R’ Us is offering 50% discounts on selected toys. The toy seller is also showcasing hot toys from 2007 in its stores. Merchants “are going to use all 31 days in December,” said Marshal Cohen, chief analyst at NPD Group, a market research company in Port Washington, New York.
At Buckland Hills’ Bath & Body Works store, Maria Ness of Galston-bury, Connecticut, was loading up on hand lotions and other items for herself. “I’ve been waiting for the sale,” Ness said. Meanwhile, at Carousel Mall in Syracuse, New York, there were more mall walkers than shoppers when JC Penney opened its doors at 6 am. Pat Dunn of Syra-cuse, who was browsing around the housewares section looking for sale items, said her trek was an annual affair.
And, she said, she wasn’t about to let the cold rain falling outside deter her. “Everything is so marked up. This is the best time to shop,” Dunn said. “This is for next year.” Dunn said she received gift cards for Christmas but wasn’t using them now. “I’ll use them later for something for my-self,” she said.
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After a stronger-than-expected turnout on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, stores struggled through the first two weeks of December as consumers returned to malls and stores at a disappointing paced. Stores did get a late-buying sales surge in the final days of the pre-Christmas season, but it was not enough to meet holiday sales goals. A big negative factor this season was mild temperatures in most of the country, which depressed sales of winter items like coats and snow boots. Based on data released late Sunday by ShopperTrak RCT, sales for both Friday and Saturday generated $16.2 billion with Saturday’s business totaling $8.72 billion.
But Bill Martin, co-founder of ShopperTrak, said he had expected the finale to be stronger; be-cause it wasn’t, stores need a good post-Christmas season to meet ShopperTrak’s 5 percent holiday forecast. The post-Christmas season has become more important with the increasing popularity of gift cards. Gift card sales are only recorded on retailers’ balance sheet when cards are redeemed.
According to BigResearch, which conducted a poll for the National Retail Federation, consumers are expected to spend a total of $24.81 billion on gift cards, this holiday season, up from $18.48 billion in the year-ago period.
Last year, the week ended Saturday December 31, accounted for 15.6% of holiday sales, compared with 10.3% in the corresponding period in 2004.
In fact, according to a poll of 1,200 shoppers conducted by Kurt Salmon Associates from November 30 to December 5, half of respondents said they plan to take advantage of the post-holiday sales.
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