New York – Online and traditional retailers are taking aim at the bane of their holiday sales – procrastinators.
You know the type. Last-minute lolly gaggers who have put off their holiday shopping either to wait for desperation sales by retailers or because they can’t stand the crowds.
Retailers have a plan for them: Lure shoppers early in the season with discounts, free shipping and expanded hours. For online shops, it seems to be working, so far.
Still, to increase the likelihood of a robust season, online retailers stepped up the discounts and other come-ons Monday before the deadline later this week for most offers of free shipping of holiday gifts. But traditional store owners remained a bit anxious as shoppers appeared to be delaying their purchases even more than last year, despite upbeat anecdotal evidence from some stores and malls over the past weekend.
“We will definitely see a lot of sales as online retailers want to entice shoppers,” said Heather Dougherty, senior analyst at Nielsen/NetRatings Inc. She noted that for online shoppers, “unless you are a super-procrastinator,” it has to happen this week and early next week.
Eddiebauer.com is offering 50 percent off last-minute gift items, and free shipping ends today.
Walmart.com will release 4,000 hard- to-find Fisher-Price T.M.X dolls over four days starting today on a first-come, first-served basis.
Many traditional stores, meanwhile, are tying their online offers with those at their physical stores. Gap Inc. is offering up to 50 percent discounts on selected styles on its website and in its stores.
Late Sunday, comScore reported that total online spending from Nov. 1 through Dec. 8 reached $15.58 billion, up 25 percent compared to the year-ago period.
