retail sales

Shopping centers determined not to let the Grinch steal this Christmas

It's beginning to look a lot like a heavy-handed push to drive shoppers to the stores this holiday season.

With Black Friday right around the corner, mall and store owners are bracing for thrifty spending by consumers tight on cash and even tighter on consumer optimism.

To counteract what could be a dismal holiday spending season, look for special mall promotions and events, plus individual store discount programs, on a grand scale.

Simon Property Group Inc. (NYSE: SPG), the largest shopping mall owner in America, has started pitching a marketing program that seeks to lure shoppers with discounts and other special offers from its retail tenants. Read more...

Retailers gearing up to dial for dollars

In need of a shopping companion to help you navigate the upcoming blitz of holiday bargains and specials?

This season, the best partner already may be in your pocket or purse.

Cellular phones, with an evolving link between retail and technology, have the potential this Christmas season to ring true in buying merchandise at decent prices.

"It's really developed into a wonderful marketing tool that not only gives you text messages about products, but since mobile Web browsing is now available, you can find out when it goes on sale and where it's available," said Scott Krugman, a spokesman with the National Retail Federation. Read more...

Retailers Feel Pinch of Returns

Shopping at Nordstrom in Miami this month, Maria Kakouris indulged herself with a $200 pair of satin-and-snakeskin pumps. Then came a spasm of buyer’s remorse. “Those shoes — they are still in my car with the receipt,” said Ms. Kakouris, a real estate agent. “I’m thinking, where am I going to wear them?”

In less challenging times, Ms. Kakouris might have hung onto the shoes. But now she is more circumspect. “They’re going right back where they came from,” she said.

In giving up her splurge, Ms. Kakouris joined a steeply rising number of shoppers who, driven by anxiety over jobs and savings, or an immediate need for cash, are marching back to stores with their purchases. Read more...

Toy stores expect to overcome safety scares and economic downturn

This time last year, customers at the specialty toy store Playthings Etc. in Clay, Butler County, were full of questions about which toys were safe. Not this year. "They don't ask anymore," said co-owner Nadine Shingleton. The staff at S.W. Randall Toyes & Giftes, which has three Pittsburgh locations, reported a similar experience.

"Nobody even talks about it," said owner Jack Cohen.

Headed into this year's holiday shopping season, toy retailers and manufacturers have been able to play the kind of games they're more familiar with: Marketing dolls and trains and puzzles while firing off a few shots in the price wars. Even in a difficult economy, that's more fun than coping with toy recalls and trying to calm worried parents. Read more...

Obama gear selling out at local stores

A steady stream of people filtered in and out of Sign of the Times in Nyack yesterday, asking for Barack Obama T-shirts or walking away with a couple of Obama victory buttons.

It's been like this since the weekend, co-owners Lisa Litman and Denise Cohen said, with gear of America's Democratic president-elect - from bumper stickers to mugs - flying off the shelves.

Litman said they've either run out of most merchandise or are close to it. But, they plan on another big shipment next week, replacing the "Yes We Can" memorabilia with "Yes We Did." Read more...

Obama Win Could Spur Holiday Sales

New York -- Can Barack Obama save Christmas?

In a survey by the International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs, 8% of respondents said they are likely to increase holiday spending, thanks to the historic election of Sen. Obama to the White House. By contrast, only 5% said they would have increased spending if Sen. John McCain had been elected.

While Michael Niemira, director-research at ICSC, admits those figures don't represent the bulk of consumers, he said it still offers a reason for optimism. "It does say on the margin that getting the election behind us will help," he said. "Now things may change, and that's what we're counting on, even if it's in the margin." Read more...

Financial meltdown won't spoil Halloween fun

New York - Global stocks markets are plummeting, house prices are slumping and jobless figures are rising but Americans are not about to let a financial crisis dent their Halloween fun.

About three quarters of Americans plan to celebrate the ghost and goblins holiday, and despite the credit crunch most are going to delve deeper into their pockets this year to buy candies, costumes and decorations.

The average American will spend $47 on Halloween, 18 percent more than last year, credit card company Visa Inc said, based on the findings of its polls of American consumers. Read more...

Tenants tough to find for new retail shopping projects

FL — Retail developers across South Florida are scrambling to fill shopping centers as the deteriorating economy has merchants closing or cutting back on expansion plans.

Three large projects in Broward County have yet to announce anchor tenants. Centers also are going up in Palm Beach County, but developers concede that leasing is as difficult now as it has been in years.

The reduction in consumer spending, the credit crunch and the overbuilding of shopping centers following the housing boom of 2000 to 2005 are contributing to the current retail malaise, analysts say. For the next 18 to 36 months, slower occupancy and more concessions from landlords will be the norm. Read more...

Downtown retail numbers up

Although downtown Morgan Hill retail sale numbers have increased during the past three years, businesses in the city's core have been shifting and sharing space for the past six months to stay in the quaint and scenic area.

Centered on Monterey Road and bound by Main Avenue, Butterfield Boulevard, Dunne Avenue and Del Monte Avenue, downtown's retail sales for fiscal year 2007-08, which ended July 1, were $11.7 million, up $700,000 from last year's $11 million, according to Business Assistance and Housing Services manager Joyce Maskell. The year before, July 2005 to June 2006, downtown sales totaled $9.5 million. There was an increase of $1.5 million in such sales from $9.5 million during fiscal year 2005-06 to 11 million during fiscal year 2006-07, according to Maskell.

During those same years, numerous businesses cycled in and out of the 18-block area, according to city business licensing data. About half of the existing restaurants and retail shops have been in the downtown less than five years. Read more...

Retailers Brace for Christmas Slump, While Some Enjoy Sales Uptick

Retailers are more apt to find a lump of coal in their stockings this Christmas than cash in the till.

“I can’t give you a prediction in percentages, but I can tell you it’s going to be bleak and I don’t think anything’s on the horizon that’s going to change that,” said George Whalin, who heads Retail Management Consultants of Carlsbad. “I don’t know that in my lifetime I’ve ever seen such dramatic change in the economic state of our country and in such a short period of time.”

The National Retail Federation predicts holiday sales will increase a modest 2.2 percent in November and December to $470 billion versus a year ago, the slowest gain since 2002. Read more...