Retailers Cross Fingers As Holidays Near

CBS Evening News: Despite Grim Predictions, Stores Still Bank On Holiday Shopping Season

(CBS)  If the shoppers come, the Gap will be ready.

As the holiday shopping season ramps up, retail stores are busy putting the finishing touches on efforts to draw customers in, despite the battered U.S. economy, reports CBS News correspondent Seth Doane.

"This is it, we're at the end," said Barbara Cook, head of stores for Gap, Inc. "What you're seeing is the finish line of the whole kind of retail chain here."

While Gap sales are down 8 percent from a year ago, net income actually rose, because the company slashed inventory and closed unprofitable locations, said Cook.

"You know, it's a bit like planning for a very well-choreographed play," she said of the holiday preparations.

But they cannot choreograph the customers.

Eighty-nine percent of shoppers plan to spend the same, or less, than they did last year. Only 11 percent plan to spend more.

"This year Black Friday takes on a different dynamic," said retail analyst Marshall Cohen. "The consumer has already seen the retailer blink months ago and that means the consumer has the ability to wait as long as they want. You're going to be able to get anything, anywhere at almost any price."

So on the eve of Black Friday, some sales teams are getting pep talks, with managers reminding staff of two-for-one sweater deals.

In past years, sale items were positioned near the front to draw customers in. Now they're everywhere.

"I think the customers are definitely looking for value," said Cook.

While clothing and toys top the holiday shopping list, electronics and video games are not too far behind. And despite dismal predictions, Best Buy's Michael Vitelli thinks Black Friday could surprise everyone.

"There's a part of me, the hopeful part, that says this Black Friday is going to be bigger than any one in recent memory because there are so many people looking for deals that are only available on that day," he said.

That may be what retailers are hoping, but another statistic may give them pause - just about 11 percent of shoppers haven't paid off their holiday shopping debt from last year.

[aldon61]

I just came from CNN.com where the question being asked refers to black friday and what people are going to do. Eleven per cent said they will be spending above last years'' levels. Twenty two per cnet said they will be spending about the same as last year. Everyone else said they are in "lock down" mode and will not be spending like they have in the past. Retailors beware, this may be the "black friday" from h.ell!

[whitemale08]

Why cross your fingers, instead figure out away to back to work in rebuilding this country.

We don''t need all of these big-box retailers anymore.

America needs to stop trying to live in luxury and go back to work; hard physical work.

However government needs to shut-down the privately held Federal Reserve System and go back to a CREDIT SYSTEM where only Congress and the President can authorize credit for investment in infrastucture, energy and manufacturing.

[fabrat1]

I almost always shop black Friday but not this year. I just don''t see anything on that great of a sale. Last year was great there were lots of great things. I''ve looked at all the ads for my local stores and I''m just not impressed.

[deckardbr]

It''''s amazing to me that we should hope and pray that the greedy CEO''''s that completely mangled our economy, make enough money to prevent our entire economy from collapsing. Particularly when they don''''t give a *** about America or it''''s citizens in the first place.

Posted by IwasHungry68 at 10:54 PM : Nov 27, 2008

Mom always said I had a twin, but until now I never believed her, and neither did my psychiatrist.

[downtowner97]

Shop hard, people! The Chinese people who made the stuff you buy are counting on you to end their 3000 year old culture and make them like us.

[harp1963]

Good luck, but since there''s no middle class thanks to the "continuous improvement" mantra at fortune 500 companies that has wiped out good paying jobs for slave labor in third world countries so 1% of us could have all the money, I''d say things are going to get worse before they get better.

You know what''s funny about "trickle down" economics, it''s all based off of the 1% sharing the wealth. Isn''t that funny, to think the Walton family would eat into their billions of dollars in profits and pay their employees more without raising prices. It''s just easier to make a large public donation to a charity, appear charitable, and then have to pay less in taxes due to the appearance of charity all while working their employees long hour for little pay. America, the land of crooks.

[ocasanas]

As other posters mention here, I have shopped years before, but this year, I don''t see anything with a good price. Besides that, I drove around a Walmart and a Target, and there were NO PEOPLE waiting outside. I don''t think that people are interested in buying this year. We rather keep our money.

[shanev137]

Yup, I''ve already looked online at some stores and I''m not seeing that many blow-out deals. Most deals I''m seeing in electronics are only on low end and/or older model stuff that''s already obsolete. Guess I''ll check back around Christmas to see if retailers are hurting by then.

[pugster]

Went to Circuit City and they don''t have anything decent on sale. If you want to get electronics and computers, might as well wait between now and Christmas

[omnibus66]

I don''t know about the rest of you, but I''m not going to get up before daylight, push through crowds of people only to find out that the two items they had on sale are already gone.

What gift shopping I do will probably be online, and I suspect it will be very little, given the uncertainty of the economy.

If the retailers want me to shop their stores, they are going to have to offer rain checks for sale items.

[closethippy1]

It''''s amazing to me that we should hope and pray that the greedy CEO''''s that completely mangled our economy, make enough money to prevent our entire economy from collapsing.
Particularly when they don''''t give a *** about America or it''''s citizens in the first place.
The ONLY thing they care about is MONEY - and if letting America explode in a ball of flames made them a dollar, they would gladly light the match themselves.
Posted by IwasHungry68 at 10:54 PM : Nov 27, 2008

Wow, I''ve never seen my own thoughts being articulated like this by someone else since I first came up with them after Ronald Wilson Reagan was elected.
The greed the American upper class has shown and their lack of national solidarity has always been very clear to me. It''s been very, very distressfull to watch all of this going down over the years.
I''m no expert in this matter but it just never felt right to me for people to run for political office because of their disdain and contempt for the government they want to work for. It''s like someone trying to find employment in a company so they can put an end to it from within.
Cutting social programs, making life a hell for public schools, making it easier for corporations to export jobs and pay less taxes, making almost impossible for millions of Americans to get health insurance, deregulate, deregulate, deregulate and leave us at the mercy of the upper class.
Unfortunately, it took the entire house of cards to fall apart for people to pay attention.