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However, analysts believe the big 70% markdowns are more likely to be strategically slapped on certain items rather than spread store-wide as they were last year. "We're definitely expecting to see a lot of promotions in the days before Christmas, but we are not likely to see the blanket discounts and markdowns that we saw a year ago," says Ellen Davis, a spokesperson for the National Retail Federation. "You probably won't walk into a store and see signs for 60%, 70% or 80% off everything."See pictures of retailers which have gone out of business...
...people are only buying items that are on sale and we think people are still holding out to get the best deal possible," says Grannis. "There could be great deals, but they're not going to be the 70% [across the board sales] that they saw at this time last year...
Sheila Rose, a 50-year-old mother of two in Stamford, Conn., is typical of shoppers who have been sitting on their hands waiting for the final markdowns. With unemployment hitting a 25-year high, she expects discounts to at least match last year's levels, "or maybe even more given the situation." Says Rose: "I think there will be some real hidden gems there towards...
...general, retailers that have focused on value, such as TJ Maxx, Kohl's Corp., Aeropostale, Children's Place, the Gap and Old Navy, have fared the best this holiday season and will likely resort to shallower discounts in the last two shopping days, says Jaffe. Best Buy, J. Crew and UrbanOutfitters have also performed well and are therefore unlikely to stray beyond planned promotions this week, he says...
Heavy storms that swept across the Northeast over the weekend heightened the tension, dampening sales on the critical last Saturday before Christmas. That has added to pressure on department store retailers to make unplanned markdowns on select items in the final days, says Matthew Katz, a managing director at AlixPartners, a business advisory firm. Katz notes that many retailers launched aggressive TV ads in the past few days. "That's an indication there's a little bit of tension and nervousness," he says...