Stores lure shoppers with post-holiday sales

Gift-card purchases aren’t recorded on retailers’ books until shoppers redeem them.

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO

ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK — Retailers opened earlier than ever on the day after Christmas on Wednesday and slashed prices with hopes of salvaging a holiday season that is falling short of already modest expectations.

Merchants are trying to lure post-Christmas bargain hunters and gift-card splurgers that could provide a much needed boost during this crucial period. Gift card sales, which have been growing in recent years, are not recorded until shoppers redeem them. Still, investors are growing more pessimistic about this shopping season, sending most retailers’ stocks down Wednesday. Cincinnati-based Macy’s Inc.’s shares fell more than 4.5 percent in the afternoon.

“My son gave me gift cards for clothes, and I get up with the birds, so I figured I’d get the most with my money,” said Susan Depetris, who was loading pants and sweaters into a cart at Kohl’s in Medford, Mass. She didn’t plan on looking for gifts for anyone else. She had just one person on her mind while she shopped — herself.

“I was the first one in the door, so it was nice,” said Shirley Vilhauer, of Bismarck, N.D., who was shopping at a local Kohl’s and spent less than $25 on ski pants for her grandson and a baby gift for her niece’s young son.

The International Council of Shopping Centers said Wednesday that same-store sales, or sales at stores opened at least a year during the November-December period, appear to be coming in just below already slim projections for a 2.5 percent gain, though it said that a post-Christmas buying bump could erase that shortfall. That contrasts to a more upbeat assessment from its chief economist Michael P. Niemira, after the weekend’s spending surge, who predicted that holiday sales could at least meet forecasts.

Target Corp. warned late Monday that its same-store sales might decline for December, while a broad gauge of consumer spending released by Mastercard Advisors, a division of the credit card company, which includes estimates for spending by check and cash, reported Tuesday an increase of 3.6 percent from Thanksgiving to Christmas. That compared with a 6.6 percent gain in the year-ago period. The 2007 holiday figure is at the low end of its 3.5 percent to 4.5 percent range. Excluding gasoline and auto sales, that figure was 2.4 percent.

“The ingredients were not there for a blockbuster season,” said Michael McNamara, vice president, research and analysis of MasterCard Advisors.

Despite a strong start to the season, shoppers held out for deals through most of December amid a challenging economy. Higher gasoline prices, an escalating credit crisis and a housing slump made shoppers cautious, which has manifested itself in weakening sales growth throughout the year, McNamara said.

To spur business, stores rolled out discounts early and aggressively, raising concern about profits during this crucial period. The holiday season accounts for up to 30 percent of annual stores sales. For toy sellers, holiday business accounts for as much as 50 percent.

Retailers’ woes can be good news for shoppers, who are being bombarded with even more generous discounts in the after-Christmas period. Toys “R” Us Inc., which threw open its doors at 8 a.m. Wednesday, two hours earlier than last year, offered 40 percent price cuts on all MP3 and iPod accessories. Macy’s Inc. marked down cashmere sweaters anywhere from 50 percent to 75 percent off, while Saks Fifth Avenue cut prices on fur coats by 40 percent to 60 percent.

The post-Christmas season has become more important with the increasing popularity of gift cards. According to the National Retail Federation, consumers were expected to spend a total of $26.3 billion in gift cards this holiday season, up 42 percent from $18.5 billion in 2005.

ShopperTrak RCT Corp. said that the week after Christmas accounts for about 16 percent of total holiday sales.

Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at NPD Group Inc., a market research firm, agreed, noting that when the industry looks at the holiday results, they need to include January business.