Hey, anybody got info on how Xmas sales are going? What gives?

[Jackpine Radical]

I got dragged into the mall by my wife the other day & was amazed to see clothing & other stuff deeply discounted--like 40, 50, even 70% more than a week before Xmas. People seemed to be buying, but it's hard to imagine the stores making any kind of profit on the prices they were charging. Being the dyscultural person that I am, I have no idea how widespread this stuff is, or even whether I'm accurately interpreting what I see. What gives? Is this happening everywhere? Or do stores routinely put outrageous "regular" prices on stuff so they can give the illusion of huge discounts, or what?

[Deja Q]

1. I've seen little different...

Though the day after Xmas is when prices regularly plummet.

[warrens]

2. Cutting prices this week

Online is doing great, electronics doing great, some dept stores (Macy's) doing great. Pretty flat or even down at a lot of mass merchants. Including wally world.

[Warpy]

3. I went into Wally's at noon on Friday

to pick up a pile of prescriptions and the place was DEAD. People were only buying the usual food and sundries. There was nobody in there with a cart loaded with consumer junk.

I ducked into a mall earlier in the day because I couldn't believe how empty the parking lot was. It was EMPTY, just a few people in running shoes doing speed walking.

Unless everything is packed and people are going into deep debt on the weekends, I'd say retailers are having a pretty bad season.

They'll skew the figures upward with the luxury market sales, of course. They'll have to. It's the only market that's doing well.

[Broken_Hero]

4. I've seen some drastic

discounts...a few in tools, like saw/drill motor combo's, for 40 bucks or less...B/and Decker, and Sears had the same with their craftsmans sets too...

A few clothes on sale, a TON of board games, and random toys...like R/C bikes/cars/trucks....

Other than that, I haven't really seen much...nothing to grab my attention, except that Craftsman/B and Decker sets....

on edit:to turn grap, into grab...

[KansDem]

15. "B/and Decker, and Sears had the same with their craftsmans sets too..."

I was in Sears yesterday and saw a table saw for less than $100! I think it was about $80-90. I was buying 3 long-sleeve T-shirts that regularly sold for $20 each for $9 each. I thought, "Man, I got to come back and grab that table saw!"

[Broken_Hero]

17. Yep, I saw some bigger sets

four power tools for less than a hundred...a couple double packs for 40. My wife and I are relatively new homeowners, and getting/buying tools is a must to fix/repair the little things that break down around the house. We are finally at a point,where we can afford to buy some things for the house...it only took us two and a half years to get that breathing room...

[KansDem]

21. Tell me about it!

...getting/buying tools is a must to fix/repair the little things that break down around the house.

My wife and I have owned our home for 18 years. We need to remodel and add on an extra room for our growing family. Can't afford to have a contractor do it and can't afford to move, so I'm in the process of making a small bedroom out of part of the garage. Every weekend's a challenge!

And those sale prices on tools are a BIG help.

Particularly Craftsman™...they're USA made!

[Extend a Hand]

5. Retailers don't expect hardly anyone to pay full retail price

for clothing. They start discounting 2-4 weeks after a new item hits the racks. You don't normally see 70% off until stuff is out of season though.

[Mythsaje]

6. Target's been a zoo lately...

Haven't seen anything like the deep discounts to which you're referring...not at target, though Kmart IS discounting nearly everything. I bought a fleece pullover hoody for less than 7 bucks. Even the cheap ones offered by Walgreens every winter are usually 10 dollars apiece.

Not a good sign for Kmart, if you ask me, but I'm hardly an expert on the retail business.

[Jackpine Radical]

7. K-Mart/Sears has been on life support for years.

I don't know what it is about K-Marts, but they are the most poorly managed, hard-to-shop retail outlets this side of Bangladesh. Unpriced, disorganized merchandise, rows of unmanned checkouts with long lines at the one that is open...I swear I could go into any one of those places and lead the manager through his/her own store and show them how to increase sales 5% immediately.

[Generic Brad]

19. So it's systematic at K-Mart

There are three within a short distance from my house and every one is exactly as you describe.

But I have noticed within the past two years that their lighting has improved. I no longer feel like I'm shopping in a cave when I go there.

[Virginia Dare]

8. The online retailers seem to be giving deep discounts...n/t

[KoKo]

9. Was in Kohls Department Store this weekend...and they were giving

everything away. Tons of ornaments/decorations discounted below what they must have cost to make and ship from China...clothing 60 and 70% off. Linens and other items 50 to 60% off.

I don't know how the oil prices for shipping this stuff across the Pacific and Trucking it to the East Coast can sustain these low prices. It costs something for the materials and labor.

Doesn't make sense how things can be sold so cheaply. The quality is cheaper this year it seems with lots of polyester and acrylic and fleece items that pill after a wash...but most of those are made as byproduct of oil aren't they? How can they do this. I couldn't buy the materials and produce them here at home even if my labor was free for what they sell them for. Strange....:shrug:

[Redneck Socialist]

18. Don't worry, they're making money on those items

The markup on clothing is outrageous.

[KoKo]

10. BTW: The high end stores like Williams Sonoma/Crate and Barrel and

specialty clothing stores seem to have "increased" their prices, while the middle class stores are slashing them. I'm not talking about the WalMarts but the major Department stores who used to be where Middle Class could shop for good quality clothing.

Those who have money can afford to pay the "mark ups" it seems.

[WI_DEM]

11. I think they will have some numbers released today, but consumer confidence might be up

due to the Democrats winning Congress last month.

[nadinbrzezinski]

12. I've been at the folllosing storse this year

Wally Mart, had to, for some yarn for my mom, only place I can find it... (and my first time in 18 moths), at five thirty in the afternoon, I was in and out in a jiffy, no problem. No did not check for discounts, I don't care for wally mart... but the place was empty

Target, my local target when I have gone pick up my meds, empty

Oh and on Friday Sears, I needed socks, empty

Now old navy yesteray, Sunday right, did not look any busier than the rest of the year

[KoKo]

13. Kick...because posts like this allow us to take "Temperature" of "folks like

us." And, posts like this often get lost in the Poltical Fray.

So...a BIG KICK! What's going on in your "neighborhood" as far as shopping is going.

We know we are ALL OUT THERE...buying the "last minutes" so "up-to-date" reports on how our GDP ECONOMY are VERY WELCOME!

Please keep POSTING...so those of us who already "did it" don't feel totally ALONE in responses? :shrug:

[RamboLiberal]

14. This was on MSNBC yesterday - not going to swimmingly

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16256295/

Get ready for the final showdown between the nation’s retailers and consumers.

With Dec. 25 only a week away, many stores are finding themselves in the same position as in recent years, counting on those procrastinators to meet their sales goals even amid early reports of a strong shopping weekend.

With some notable exceptions, stores have generally stuck to planned discounts throughout the holiday season, not buckling to pressures from shoppers who are waiting for the best deals. That’s good news for retailers’ fourth-quarter profits.

But it also makes it more nerve-racking as merchants wait for the big sales surge. After pulling in better-than-expected crowds on Black Friday, the start of the holiday shopping season, shoppers have been returning to stores at a slower-than-expected pace after a post-Thanksgiving lull.

Shoppers did shop early for certain hot toys such as Fisher-Price’s T.M.X. Elmo and Sony’s PlayStation3, and popular consumer electronics like flat-panel TVs. Pricey fashions and jewelry as well as luxe handbags have been hot too, but for most of the other merchandise, particularly apparel, consumers are dilly-dallying.

[KoKo]

16. Just tonight on CNBC...Kudlow (Reagan Shill) asks "Are Bushies Cooking Books?"

His lead off was about Retail Sales Numbers having "statistical problems."

Two guests agreed but Kudlow was the "Three to One" saying it's a "Golodilocks Economy." Just Right! :puke:

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

20. The Malls/Stores By Me Have Still Been Total Zoos, So They're Probably Doin Ok.

Have seen some good discounts here and there, but nothing I considered atypical of what I'd expect to find on any other given year.

[Neshanic]

22. From what I have observed, not well at all.