Lots left for last shopping weekend

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Lot's Left for Last Shopping Weekend

By Laura Baverman • lbaverman@enquirer.com

December 17, 2009

There are still plenty of digital cameras, marshmallow launchers and sweaters on the shelves at local stores, and retailers plan to be sure you come out to buy them on the last shopping weekend before Christmas.

Aggressive discounts, coupons and shipping offers are expected to continue through the weekend and up until Christmas Eve, according to retail experts.

The results of the National Retail Federation's latest shopper survey showed that 46 percent of consumers had purchased less than half of the items on their list by the second week in December, the lowest percentage since 2004. About 19 percent of people hadn't even started shopping.

Many are still holding out for this last week and weekend before Christmas, when retailers like Macy's extend their hours and JCPenney offer free shipping upgrades. Both will also continue to offer in-store and online sales. Banana Republic and H&M just launched their winter sales. Nordstrom has already begun advertising its half-yearly men's sale, which starts Dec. 26, for those who can wait to shop after Christmas.

It's still debatable when the best deals happened this season, or if they're yet to come. Some shoppers pointed to Cyber Monday after Thanksgiving, when retailers gave shoppers lots of incentives to place orders online. Some said the free shipping offers throughout the season made online shopping preferable. Others said they still found the best promotions venturing out on Black Friday.

Still others have seen deals get better and better as the season progressed.

National Retail Federation vice president Ellen Davis said retailers knew months in advance that shoppers would demand discounts and so planned accordingly.

"Retailers have done an admirable job planning inventory this season," she said. "They won't need to resort to the unplanned markdowns and discounts that they did a year ago."

As a result, retailers may not have an item when a consumer comes out to buy it. A recent Consumer Reports poll found that 34 percent of people had found an item out-of-stock when they went to buy online or in a store.

Locally, JCPenney has seen a rush on its red box items like turntables, video cameras and projectors, with some stores running out periodically throughout the season, said Debra Kellum, district manager for the chain's Cincinnati stores.

Macy's advises customers to buy when they find an item they like. Sizes and colors may dwindle as the week goes on, said Andrea Schwartz, vice president of media relations for the retailer's north and Midwest divisions.

With what's expected to be a boom week for shopping, Davis expects that retail sales could prove better than anticipated in December.

"There is a bit of a glimmer of hope among retailers that the final 10 days before Christmas will be robust and busy," she said.

George Vredeveld, director of the University of Cincinnati's Economics Center for Education and Research, is a little less optimistic.

"Retailers hope they haven't finished shopping," he said. "I think people woke up to the fact that they've got way too much debt. We might not see this big explosion in spending."

Personal debt has dropped 6 percent year-to-date, Vredeveld said. It's the first time in 18 years that Americans have made efforts to reduce their debt.

"While it might not be all that good for the retailers, in the long run, it might be. People are going to create some balance in their debt positions. Retailers will be stronger because of it."