Last-Minute Shoppers Unable To Save Christmas For Retailers
The AP says that while last-minute shoppers are still out there looking for bargains — the holiday season was over long ago for retailers.
Deep discounts are coming, as a flood of inventory sits unwanted on store shelves.
Retailers' woes were good news for the dwindling numbers of shoppers who could afford to load up on deals. With mounds of inventory still left to sell, merchants are expected to deepen the discounts even more the day after Christmas.
But if 75 percent off before Dec. 25 didn't make shoppers splurge, will even bigger deals do the trick amid mounting worries about layoffs and shrinking retirement funds?
The AP says that aside from a big surge the day after Thanksgiving — shoppers just weren't buying. And when they were — they were buying modest, practical gifts.
Even gift card sales — which usually sustain stores for a few weeks after Christmas as many of the cards are redeemed — are down. Shoppers either found inexpensive gifts that were too good to pass up — or were afraid that the store would go out of business before the card was used.
Analysts have kept slashing their holiday estimates. Michael P. Niemira, chief economist at the International Council of Shopping Centers, now expects that sales at established stores for November and December will fall 1.5 percent to 2 percent — making it the weakest holiday season since at least 1969, when the index began.
Yikes.
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Yeah, end of year clearance sales are going to be pimp this year. Which will be awesome...
I didn't buy a lot for Christmas this year, because I'm jumping on the down housing market and buying myself a house instead. Sorry to my family for the bunk gifts, but sometimes you have to look out for #1.
What IS the best day to buy during the Christmas season (besides Black Friday)?
It's either a few days before Christmas, Christmas Eve, the day after Christmas, or New Years Eve, right?
It's always the consumer's fault, isn't it? If we spend money we don't have, that's not good. If we don't spend money we don't have, that's not good either. Always our fault....
Most of the stuff that is on sale now is the christmas stuff, its just on sale earlier this year in the hopes that people will buy it, instead of slapping 75% off on it 2 days after Christmas they are doing it now. This stuff has such high markups anyways that I am sure they are turning a profit even on those 2.99 ornaments that were originally 15$.
Its not practical to waste a lot of money on Christmas junk, people know this and they are not buying since people have other things to spend on. In my family we have NEVER bought Xmas stuff before the holidays, it was always bought on the after Xmas sale and put away for the following year.
I am waiting on a few things that I know will go on sale because they are not moving from store shelves, and they won't move until the discounts get really deep.
I have plenty of money to spend right now, but the retailers would rather have items sit on their shelves than break even. That's okay, I can hold out until I see prices I want to pay.
Here's the deal: you can't lay people off, and send jobs overseas, and still expect that people can afford to buy your shit.
And, frankly, I am really sick of retailers turning christmas into a selling free for all.
@WiglyWorm: I don't see anything to apologize for. Instead of overspending on crap you bought something durable and worthwhile.
If my kids told me they used the money they were going to spend on Christmas gifts and were able to make a better down payment, I'd be happier than hell! That would, in fact, be about the best gift I could get: Knowing that someone I love has a stable place to live and could afford it on their own.
@cedarpointfan: It's best to convert to one of the forms of Eastern Orthodoxy that still use the Julian calendar, celebrate Christmas a week or two later than most Americans, and do all your shopping on the day after Christmas. :)
Alternatively, you could go back to the older tradition (still used in some Christian groups) where gifts are exchanged on the Feast of the Epiphany (Jan 6), when the magi arrive with the gold and whatnot.
Geez, I wonder if that's because Best Buy wants $40 for Season Two of The Office. Still waiting for them to take a cue from Circuit City.
@nicemarmot617: Better yet, buy duct tape and make your own purse! The leftover tape will come in handy for jalopy repair, mending clothes and tents, and closing larger wounds. Currently I'm designing a possum trap made of duct tape, which soon I'll post over at Instructables.
@ThinkerTDM: I agree. While I obviously don't like people losing their jobs, the media needs to stop treating spending like a sacred duty. The entire industry has put all its eggs in the Christmas basket, and was getting scared over the prediction that sales would grow less than usual (grow being the operative word here). Your profitably should not be dependent on exploiting one holiday for your own ends.
The deals might have gotten better in a few places (and worse in many more), but overall it's been business as usual. About the only thing anyone has done outside of the ordinary is merged into bigger, even more soulless companies and begged the government for money.
Stop whining about everything beyond your power and do something. Customer service would be an excellent place to start, for example. Treating your employees well even makes customers happy. Remember, treat your employees and customers as expendable, and they'll do the same to you.
oh man, i loved that "year without santa claus" movie.
i did all of my shopping online. sorry, i'm not trying to dodge sales tax or intentionally hurt my local businesses; price is everything when customer service doesnt exist.
provide excellent service or have more competitive prices otherwise you'll lose to online retailers who currently offer both.
@steinwaytony: I love it... remember when CDs and DVDs first came out and we were fed all the BS about how they were so much cheaper to produce (less than a pennie per, due to economies of scale) that we would surely get our movies and music for cheaper than cassette/VHS?
I'm still waiting for the price premium on this "new technology" to break so we can finally realize those cheaper prices.
Seems interesting because the Target I work at was averaging 10% more sales per day over last year. A couple days we were over 30% more in sales than the same day last year.
A couple weeks ago we had a $500k day which is amazing because we only average about $800-$900k on Black Friday.
December has been an excellent month in fact. November was down about 6-8% though but I think we more than made up for it.
it's like everywhere I go while attempting to shop, there is some sort of "wal-mart black friday sale" effect. The malls are over crowded, best buy is over crowded, everybody is stampeding all over the place. WTF CHUCK?!
@billbobbins: Due to a record ebay season I have some money too however it can stay in the savings until I see prices I want to pay for stuff that I need (practical stuff or stuff that I will actually use). My motto is if its not on sale and there is a lot of it on store shelves its only a matter of time before it goes on sale!
I_don't_buy_it.
A gift has been made in your name to the Human Fund.
Money for people!
@nicemarmot617: Maybe retailors will understand now we dont want crap, and those making crap will stop making it. Its one of the reasons i was against a auto bailout, they make crap, and always tell us how we cant get 40mpg standard when europe has it alreay... bullshit.
@nicemarmot617: I personally found nothing but crap deals on crap products. Electronics were wholly disappointing. CC's liquidation did nothing but match newegg prices (with shipping), flat screen TV's of smaller sizes are still overpriced, and computer peripherals were barely discounted (Save USB drives)
Gift card sales were understandable. Nobody trusts them anymore, as companies go bankrupt and then tend not to honor them.
@billbobbins: completely agree. i hear a lot of people talking up these "sales". where? granted, i bought a piece of jewelry at "80% off", but c'mon. it's always like that when it comes to jewelry. who the hell pays $180 for 16" 10k gold chain?!?
i know enough about the marketplace to realize that most retailers aren't doing a whole lot to move their inventory. they're just offering the same tired "deals" & moaning that we're not biting like they do every year.
@Triborough: Is it time for the Airing of Grievances??? Or did I miss it again. @#$!! every Festivus.
@LandruBek: nice, hurry up with that trap, I have an opossum living in my cellar i need to get rid of.
I usually don't buy a lot of stuff for Christmas, I get my parents 1-2 things and I got my brother and his family a wii so it's a "family present" and that's it. A lot of my friends and I really aren't getting each other stuff just giving cards instead, or home made cookies.
I agree with the above posters who said most of the stuff on sale is crap no one wants in the first place. Who cares if it's 75% off if it's crap? Or holiday holiday decorations you don't really need in the first place because you already have a ton of them sitting at home.
@parad0x360: what's the breakdown on what you were selling though? purchases of practical gifts are beating out pure luxury items and target has a great selection of practical gifts. i got my family kitchen stuff, mostly at target. all stuff they will use at least once a week and use until it wears out
@WiglyWorm: Some are overpriced but I did find a couple good deals at my local Fry's. $20 for Seasons 3-5 of Pee Wee's Playhouse and Rick Astley's Greatest Hits for $5.
"Never gonna give you up,
Never gonna let you down,
Never gonna run around and desert you.
Never gonna make you cry,
Never gonna say goodbye,
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you..."
I honestly felt like I robbed the place when I walked out the door.
With the economy the way it is now, I certainly believe people are buying less this year.
But this is the same crap we've heard every year for at least the last 5 years.
Every year retailers hope people buy, buy, buy and every year retailers always claim they never met expectations.
Where were these 75% off sales???
I haven't seen anything particularly useful that was on sale for more than a year or so ago. Some clothes seem a bit less, but I don't think by much. Kohl's today had a lot of stuff 50% off, but the prices didn't seem that much cheaper than usual. They still wanted $13 for a "princess" nightgown.
My office had a pollyana where you put down 3 things you want. The person that got my name just got me gift cards. Gotta go out on Friday or Saturday and spend those asap before the stores are gone.
Maybe retailers could stop putting all their eggs in one basket.
I know I didn't, considering I only finished my Futurama collection, only one volume.
You can get Rick Astley's Greatest Hit for 99 cents on iTumes. It's called Never Gonna Give You Up. =P
@steinwaytony: Haha, must be nice. Box sets of Doctor Who cost $83 in the states, and they never go on sale. Eighty dollars! I know the Pound's strong right now, but that's completely bonkers. The BBC can shove it right up their fancy RP-spouting patoots.
I didn't spend much but got a couple of good deals. Got a plasma for $50 less than big box stores were selling it on black friday with free shipping and no tax.
Also got Rock Band 2 for 40% off at Toys R Us with a free gift card on top of that.
Let's put it this way... I don't think anybody paid full price for anything this season.
Good. It's not my job to save Christmas for the retailers anyway!
One good present is better than a ton of useless ones anyway.
No kidding. And, uh, maybe people are choosing to spend their money on food and rent over crap from Victoria's Secret and Best Buy. *I* am.
Where the hell are these 75% off deals? Are they just on the crap that nobody wanted already? I need a new purse and the best deals I can find on those are 40% off. Screw that, I'll just wait until after Christmas!