Shoppers appear to have given the nation's stores a needed last-minute sales surge.
Early readings from Toys R Us, Sears Holdings Corp. and several mall operators show packed stores on Christmas Eve after a busy week fueled by shoppers who delayed buying, waiting for bigger discounts that never came or slowed by last weekend's big East Coast snowstorm.
Stores are counting on these stragglers in a season that so far appears slightly better than last year's disaster. The jury is still out, because the week after Christmas accounts for about 15 percent of sales as shoppers toting gift cards return to malls.
"The procrastinators were realÂly out in force," says David Bassuk, the managing director in the retail practice of AlixPartners, a global business advisory firm. "But I think retailers needed to be more aggressive to fight for those sales. A lot of people are still willing to hold out until after Christmas because the deals weren't as good."
A Christmas Eve snowstorm in the nation's heartland was slowing some shoppers after snarling roads in the mountain states a day earlier.
At the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn., shoppers were scarce and those who showed up had entire stores to themselves.
Steve Burns, 42, and his 15-year-old daughter, Amber, of Hastings, Minn., browsed for shirts and other last-minute gifts. Burns said that the snow wasn't a problem and traffic was light because others stayed home. "It doesn't bother me any," he said.
Snowy weather can take a toll on sales. Research firm ShopperTrak reported that Saturday's snow prompted a 12.6 percent drop in sales Saturday compared with a year earlier.
Wally Brewster, a spokesman at General Growth Properties, said that merchants in his centers said they had made up for lost sales. Still, he expects overall holiday sales will be only about even with a year ago.
Caution remained. Karen MacDonald, a spokesman for mall operator Taubman Centers Inc., noted that stores said that many shoppers, remembering the 80 to 90 percent clearance sales they found last year, were asking whether the discounts were going to get any deeper.
And Rebecca Stenholm, a spokeswoman for mall operator Macerich Co., reported that more people were using cash to pay for gift cards than a year ago, reflecting tight credit and a desire to pay down debt.
The full picture won't be known until merchants report December sales Jan. 7.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement