ho-ho-holidays
Posted by Abe Sauer on September 15, 2009 11:30 AM
Christmas shopping seems to start earlier every year, reflecting the angst retailers feel with each approaching season.
Toys "R" Us, in fact, is already planning for slow sales, and will be opening about 350 "Holiday Express" locatons across the country in the coming month. (Not to be confused with "Holiday Inn Express," where you could have stayed last night.) This move is designed to place Toys "R" Us products closer to consumers wearied by a slumping economy.
Wal-Mart seems to have more faith that shoppers will return to the stores later year, tweaking their toy-vending rival, "You won't see us putting up Christmas decorations in September." But the retailer does plan an aggressive push when the season does arrive, using its size and resources to guarantee the best prices for cash-strapped families.
Sears is trying to appeal to its customers with its new Christmas Club: "Whatever contributions they make before Nov. 14 will be issued back to them—plus 3 percent interest in the form of a gift card."
But if surveys can be believed, the holiday shopping environment may hold dangers for retailers than even express locations and Christmas clubs can handle. Barron’s reported that "Americans in the Northeast are planning to cut back the most on their holiday spending, with only 57% of the region's residents planning to spend $300 or more, compared with 71% a year ago." (And we all remember how great last year's shopping season wasn't.) For that decreased spending, surveys show that 56 percent of retailers plan to advertise more aggressively, and 66 percent will offer greater discounts. So while consumers may not like the idea of Christmas shopping in September, for brands and retailers, the holiday season began months ago.
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