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Bargain hunters crowd stores for post-holiday sales
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Published: December 26, 2008
CONCORD — Shoppers and bargain hunters hit the wide corridors of Concord Mills mall Friday to scope out the sales struggling retailers are hosting to boost sagging holiday receipts.
In the storefronts in the giant outlet mall in Concord, big red signs proclaimed sales of 30 percent to 60 percent off already-slashed prices.
Deb Nance of Concord and her daughter, Tanya Frantz, and mother, Louise Franklin, were at the mall at 8:15 a.m. Friday.
"We're professional shoppers," Nance said. "We're looking for everything."
Frantz said they had lots of gift cards from many different stores and were walking around the mall, hitting the stores with big sales — from Books-A-Million to KB Toys — and looking for good deals.
Frantz and Franklin stood outside Wilson's Leather Goods, near the food court, with Nance inside, standing in line, waiting to check out.
A big sign in the store window hawked a clearance sale with "60 percent savings off already slashed prices." That translated to a $90 price tag for something that cost $230.
Major retailers are reporting large drop-offs in holiday sales compared to last year, according to The Associated Press.
The holiday season — which typically accounts for 30 percent to 50 percent of a retailer's annual total sales — has been less than jolly for most retailers.
Job cuts, portfolio losses and other economic woes have convinced consumers to cut back on their spending. Strong winter storms in the Midwest and Northeast during the holiday season kept some would-be shoppers at home.
According to preliminary data from SpendingPulse — a division of MasterCard Advisors that tracks total sales paid for by credit card, checks and cash — retail sales fell between 5.5 percent and 8 percent during the holiday season compared with last year. Excluding auto and gas sales, they fell 2 perent to 4 percent, according to SpendingPulse.
On top of that, the National Retail Federation on Dec. 23 asked the incoming Obama administration to consider tax holidays in any economic stimulus packages it enacts in the new year.
"Retailers' considerable experience with sales tax holidays has shown that they provide a substantial inducement for people to shop," a letter from the retailers said. "To this end, we suggest a series of three national sales tax holidays that would cover a very broad range of goods."
North Carolina is one of several states that has a sales tax holiday weekend, which usually happens during the back-to-school shopping season.
Still, some shoppers used the time to exchange gifts and get things they need for cheap.
Toya Jackson of Charlotte pushed a shopping cart around with bags from Burlington Coat Factory. She exchanged a coat for her son and got some boots she has been looking at. Jackson said she "didn't go overboard" on her holiday spending this year and purchased a lot of her gifts online.
It was also a chance to spend some quality time for Jackson.
"I'm spending time with my sister, too," she said. "We've seen some good deals in here, though."
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