Two things to cross off your holiday wish list: a Front Range white Christmas and a huge discount on last-minute shopping.
Bagging a big bargain this week seems about as likely as the parched plains getting a major storm — slim to Santaesque fantasy, according to forecasters and analysts.
Retailers are emboldened by signs of economic recovery and shoppers finally blowing the cobwebs off their wallets.
As a result, some of the major markdowns that last-minute shoppers enjoyed the past two years aren’t likely to surface this week.
“We’re seeing some strategic discounts offered by retailers — not the broad-based emergency discounts of the past couple of years when everything fell off the rails in terms of consumer demand,” said Michael McNamara, vice president of MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse.
“Retail spending continues to gain traction,” he said. “Most sectors are showing steady improvements.”
Some merchants said they hope to boost profit margins with full-price sales while still finding ways to attract customers.
“My personal approach (to discounting) is to add on instead of take away,” said Brenda Meyers, owner of the Rejuvanest women’s lifestyle boutique at Streets at Southglenn in Centennial.
For example, instead of offering a markdown on a home-fragrance reed diffuser, Meyers said she will sell the item at full price, then offer customers a discount if they buy a second item, such as a candle.
Meyers said holiday sales at the store are up 12 percent compared with last year.
Good week expected
Merchants generally reported strong sales over the past weekend. The Saturday before Christmas often is the biggest holiday shopping day, but because it fell this year seven days before Christmas, retailers expect a steady flow of traffic this week from last-minute customers.
Shopping Monday at Cherry Creek, Lew Bobrick of Denver was finding bargains in short supply.
“Some stuff seems a little expensive,” he said.
But with the clock ticking on pre-Christmas shopping days, Bobrick was not in the mood to play a version of holiday chicken with retailers, waiting for lower prices.
“If they have what I think I want, I’m buying it,” he said.
The dynamics of holiday shopping have changed over the past two years.
In 2008, retailers were caught off guard with the quick onset of the recession. Bloated inventories and weak consumer demand led to panicky discounts.
Last year, merchants kept a better handle on inventories, but consumer activity still faltered. More discounts.
This year, inventories are at average levels and the National Retail Federation estimates that holiday-season shopping will rise 3.3 percent this year compared to 2009. Discounts are less aggressive.
Some big bargains
Although not as common as last year, big discounts are still available — as high as 60 to 70 percent on selected items.
Wal-Mart’s toy sale over the weekend brought in big crowds, said Justin Spicher, a manager at the Lakewood store at West Colfax Avenue and Wadsworth Boulevard.
“We saw a ton of traffic,” he said, although sales comparisons with the same period last year are not available.
Spicher cited an example of a lost opportunity for customers shopping this week instead of over the weekend.
From Friday night through Sunday, a PlayStation 3 was selling for a discounted price of $299, plus the bonus of a $100 gift card. Effective Monday, the price was still $299 but without the free gift card.
Some shoppers at the malls Monday said they were still finding decent discounts.
Zehra Habib of Denver was taking advantage of sale prices to buy for herself.
“There were a lot of sales so I feel like I’ve been saving a lot,” she said. “I think it’s better than last year. I think (prices) have come down a lot.”
Staff writer Rita Wold contributed to this report.
Steve Raabe: 303-954-1948 or sraabe@denverpost.com
