SHOPPING Retailers remain hopeful about post-holiday sales

Stores hope gift-certificate sales will boost profits this week.
NEW YORK (AP) -- With a mediocre Christmas shopping season behind them, the nation's retailers are focusing on the days ahead, slashing prices even more in an effort to recoup some of the lost sales and clear out merchandise.
Nevertheless, "no matter what the stores do, they still seem to not be able to stimulate spending," said Burt Flickinger III, managing director of Reach Marketing, a retail consulting company.
Despite a better-than-expected sales surge after Thanksgiving, customers have been reluctant to spend.
The compressed season, which was six days shorter than a year ago, also had an impact on consumers, who never quite recovered from the lateness of Thanksgiving and seemed to delay their gift buying even more than usual. There is little hope that the post-Christmas rush will be enough to save merchants from the weakest season in more than 30 years.
Gift from certificates
Stores are counting more heavily this year on a spending frenzy this week, which traditionally accounts for about 10 percent of holiday sales, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers. They're expecting consumers to redeem their gift certificates and also pick up a few extra bargains.
Mall centers, like Taubman Centers, which owns or operates 31 malls in 13 states, are hoping that gift certificate sales will help lift overall results. The company reported that one-third of its malls recorded their biggest sales in gift certificates ever Monday. Sales of gift certificates are recorded only when the receiver redeems them.