Deal-hunting shoppers return to malls as retailers launch post-Christmas shopping push

Shoppers return to malls, looking for deals

Deal-hunting shoppers headed to America’s malls Saturday, gift cards in hand, hoping to snag after-Christmas discounts that sometimes topped 75 percent. They were greeted with big markdowns — and some lines — but often found limited selection.

“Everything’s been picked over,” said Donna Brown, a 52-year-old hairdresser from Seaford, Del. who was looking at an almost empty table of fleece pajamas marked down 60 percent to $11.99.

Experts reported mixed crowds during the kickoff of the after-Christmas shopping period, which last year accounted for nearly 15 percent of holiday sales.

This year, though, some observers expect the week after Christmas to be even more important because snow storms socking the country before Christmas cut into sales.

“They have plenty of time to make up for that little bit of lost momentum,” NPD Group analyst Marshal Cohen said. “This is going to be a good day for retailers.”

Retailers made a push to woo gift-card-toting shoppers by slashing prices and advertising doorbuster deals — at some stores cutting prices on clothing like pajamas, sweaters and ties before 1 p.m. — often reserved for the day after Thanksgiving.

Bessie Lyles arrived at an Atlanta Macy’s at 6 a.m., hunting for deals.

A few hours later, she’d already found two tops and a sweater along with two pairs of jeans, including one bought for $4 — marked down from $34.

“I always do this, it’s my pastime,” said the 57-year-old from Huntsville, Ala.

Diana Mayfield, a 56-year-old business trainer from Jacksonville, Ill., managed to get two Christmas ornaments for $6, marked down from $28. She was out before dawn Saturday while visiting family in Maryland, scouring for next year’s Christmas gifts.

“It’s 60 percent off original, so that’s pretty good,” she said while eyeing a rack of sweaters. “I usually get my electronics the day after Thanksgiving, and we get clothes and paper goods the day after Christmas.”

Knowing holiday shoppers would likely spend less, merchants carefully managed inventory for the season. That meant by Saturday, some store shelves were practically empty.

“I was trying to find a dress coat for my husband, but didn’t find anything,” said Bernaden Demesyeux after more than an hour of shopping at a mall in New Jersey. “Everything is the same prices as before.”

Weather also could complicate things, as a strong snow storm swept across parts of the nation’s midsection and rain dampened the mid-Atlantic through New England.

“I think the big concern on all retailers’ mind today will be the factor of the weather,” said Tom Aiello, a spokesman for Sears and Kmart stores. “But it seems so far, customers have a good resolve to get out.”

Thanks to the calendar, merchants have a whole weekend immediately after Christmas to entice shoppers. To help, retailers sent a barrage of e-mails in the past day. “Wasn’t under the tree? Get it now at the Apple Store,” read one from Apple Inc.

Walmart was offering half-off toys, and Toys R Us touted buy one, get one half-off offers. At Sears, customers could find coats for 70 percent off. And Gap Inc.’s Old Navy brand was selling men’s and women’s jeans for $15, and an e-mail encouraged shoppers to “redeem your gift cards today.”

Gift card sales are not recorded until shoppers redeem them.

Retailers received a much-needed last-minute sales surge in the final days before Dec. 25, fueled by shoppers who delayed buying, waited for bigger discounts that never came or were slowed by last weekend’s big East Coast snowstorm.

But now they’re counting on the days after Christmas to perk up overall holiday sales in a season that looks like it’s been modestly better than last year’s disaster.

The full picture won’t be known until merchants report December sales Jan. 7. But most expect merchants’ fourth-quarter profits should be intact because they didn’t press the panic button on deep discounts.

Research firm ShopperTrak is sticking to its prediction for a 1.6 percent gain, compared with a 5.9 percent drop a year ago.

The National Retail Federation expects that total retail sales will slip 1 percent, though some experts say that might be a bit too cautious. A year ago, they fell 3.4 percent by the trade group’s calculations.

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AP Retail Writers Mae Anderson in Atlanta, Michelle Chapman in Livingston, N.J. and Anne D’Innocenzio in New York contributed to this report. Heher reported from Salisbury, Md.