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Stores gear up for day after Christmas shoppers
By Anne Dıinnocenzio, AP Business Writer
Monday, December 26, 2005 | 2 comment(s)
NEW YORK The holiday buying frenzy is starting again.
The nationıs shoppers headed back to malls early this morning for post-Christmas deals as retailers wooed them with a blitz of discounts, expanded shopping hours and fresh new merchandise in an effort to salvage sales in a season thatıs turning out to be only ho-hum.
This year, shoppers waited even longer than last year to do their holiday shopping, creating more angst among retailers. Now, merchants are relying even more on the post-Christmas season, hoping that consumers will snap up discounted holiday leftovers as well as new regular-priced merchandise. In particular, given the booming popularity of gift cards, stores are counting on customers to spend their gift cards quickly gift cards are only recorded as sales when they are redeemed.
In a bid to prop up profits and sales in the post-Christmas season, a growing number of stores such as Coach Inc., American Eagle Outfitters Inc. and Casual Male Big & Tall are showcasing some spring merchandise while KB Toys Inc. is pushing new items related to the ³King Kong² movie.
But on this morning, shoppers focused on the discounted holiday merchandise, from ornaments to sweaters.
Macyıs offered 50 percent to 60 percent reductions on wool coats, while at Sears, Roebuck & Co. stores, early morning deals included $19.99 jeans and $159.99 Sony megapixel digital cameras.
At the Buckland Hills Mall in Manchester, Conn., Chevy Ricketts browsed for napkin ring holders at Fileneıs department store following the 6 a.m. opening, but couldnıt resist snagging a half-price sweater during the early-bird sale.
³It was pretty and I picked it up,² said Ricketts, of East Windsor, Conn. ³It was reduced from $32 to $15.²
Ann Murray of Tolland, Conn., found a $10 sweater, a two-piece suit for $30 and a matching top for $6. ³At this price, you can throw them away and not take them to the dry cleaners,² she said.
Also at the Buckland Hills Mall was Laura Snyder, who was visiting from Maryland. She returned a pocketbook and outfit that she received as gifts from her children. She said she would look for good prices on Tommy Hilfiger and Polo brands. ³I shop for myself after Christmas, never before,² she said.
Post-Christmas shopping is a family tradition for sisters Cookie Wayte and Joann Mitchell, who waited outside with a few eager shoppers for Fileneıs to open.
³We wait in the parking lot and when the lights come on, we say itıs time to come in,² said Wayte, who was visiting from Cincinnati.
Meanwhile, at a Wal-Mart store in Durham, N.C., Elizabeth Jones, 28, of Chapel Hill, waited in her car today for 6 a.m. so that sheıd have the best selection of wrapping paper, ribbons and other package decorations.
³I have a wrapping fetish, and so I always come out the day after Christmas so I can stock up for next year,² she said. Jones said she had some store gift cards to redeem, but didnıt plan to use them today.
John Barbee, 55, of Durham, said he was hunting for good deals and may scout out gifts for next year.
³I always shop early,² he said. He left the store with $151 worth of holiday decorations, Christmas cards and a makeup kit likely to become a gift for a granddaughter.
Michael P. Niemira, chief economist at the International Council of Shopping Centers, expects the week after Christmas will be ³big.² But he still believes that merchants will wind up with a modest 3 percent to 3.5 percent sales increase for the November-December period.
The estimate is based on same-store sales, which are sales at stores opened at least a year. But Niemira added that if more shoppers than expected redeem their gift cards this week, that could boost December sales by 0.75 percentage point.
Niemira expects that 20 percent of gift card holders will redeem their cards this week. Thereıs motivation to spend it soon. While many stores have been loosening up the restrictions on when shoppers can use the card, consumers still face fees and expiration dates from some, particularly for gift cards issued through national banks.
According to ShopperTrak RCT Corp, the week after Christmas accounted for 10 percent of holiday sales last year, but analysts expect that period could account for as much as 14 percent, given gift cardsı soaring popularity.
The National Retail Federation estimates that consumers will spend $18.48 billion on gift cards, this holiday season, up 6.6 percent from a year ago, based on a survey conducted by BIGresearch.
On the Net:
International Council of Shopping Centers: http://www.icsc.org
National Retail Federation: http://www.nrf.com
The nationıs shoppers headed back to malls early this morning for post-Christmas deals as retailers wooed them with a blitz of discounts, expanded shopping hours and fresh new merchandise in an effort to salvage sales in a season thatıs turning out to be only ho-hum.
This year, shoppers waited even longer than last year to do their holiday shopping, creating more angst among retailers. Now, merchants are relying even more on the post-Christmas season, hoping that consumers will snap up discounted holiday leftovers as well as new regular-priced merchandise. In particular, given the booming popularity of gift cards, stores are counting on customers to spend their gift cards quickly gift cards are only recorded as sales when they are redeemed.
In a bid to prop up profits and sales in the post-Christmas season, a growing number of stores such as Coach Inc., American Eagle Outfitters Inc. and Casual Male Big & Tall are showcasing some spring merchandise while KB Toys Inc. is pushing new items related to the ³King Kong² movie.
But on this morning, shoppers focused on the discounted holiday merchandise, from ornaments to sweaters.
Macyıs offered 50 percent to 60 percent reductions on wool coats, while at Sears, Roebuck & Co. stores, early morning deals included $19.99 jeans and $159.99 Sony megapixel digital cameras.
At the Buckland Hills Mall in Manchester, Conn., Chevy Ricketts browsed for napkin ring holders at Fileneıs department store following the 6 a.m. opening, but couldnıt resist snagging a half-price sweater during the early-bird sale.
³It was pretty and I picked it up,² said Ricketts, of East Windsor, Conn. ³It was reduced from $32 to $15.²
Ann Murray of Tolland, Conn., found a $10 sweater, a two-piece suit for $30 and a matching top for $6. ³At this price, you can throw them away and not take them to the dry cleaners,² she said.
Also at the Buckland Hills Mall was Laura Snyder, who was visiting from Maryland. She returned a pocketbook and outfit that she received as gifts from her children. She said she would look for good prices on Tommy Hilfiger and Polo brands. ³I shop for myself after Christmas, never before,² she said.
Post-Christmas shopping is a family tradition for sisters Cookie Wayte and Joann Mitchell, who waited outside with a few eager shoppers for Fileneıs to open.
³We wait in the parking lot and when the lights come on, we say itıs time to come in,² said Wayte, who was visiting from Cincinnati.
Meanwhile, at a Wal-Mart store in Durham, N.C., Elizabeth Jones, 28, of Chapel Hill, waited in her car today for 6 a.m. so that sheıd have the best selection of wrapping paper, ribbons and other package decorations.
³I have a wrapping fetish, and so I always come out the day after Christmas so I can stock up for next year,² she said. Jones said she had some store gift cards to redeem, but didnıt plan to use them today.
John Barbee, 55, of Durham, said he was hunting for good deals and may scout out gifts for next year.
³I always shop early,² he said. He left the store with $151 worth of holiday decorations, Christmas cards and a makeup kit likely to become a gift for a granddaughter.
Michael P. Niemira, chief economist at the International Council of Shopping Centers, expects the week after Christmas will be ³big.² But he still believes that merchants will wind up with a modest 3 percent to 3.5 percent sales increase for the November-December period.
The estimate is based on same-store sales, which are sales at stores opened at least a year. But Niemira added that if more shoppers than expected redeem their gift cards this week, that could boost December sales by 0.75 percentage point.
Niemira expects that 20 percent of gift card holders will redeem their cards this week. Thereıs motivation to spend it soon. While many stores have been loosening up the restrictions on when shoppers can use the card, consumers still face fees and expiration dates from some, particularly for gift cards issued through national banks.
According to ShopperTrak RCT Corp, the week after Christmas accounted for 10 percent of holiday sales last year, but analysts expect that period could account for as much as 14 percent, given gift cardsı soaring popularity.
The National Retail Federation estimates that consumers will spend $18.48 billion on gift cards, this holiday season, up 6.6 percent from a year ago, based on a survey conducted by BIGresearch.
On the Net:
International Council of Shopping Centers: http://www.icsc.org
National Retail Federation: http://www.nrf.com
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