Gift shoppers: Bag your best bargains early
New York, NY — If you expect holiday bargains to get better as Christmas Eve draws near, you may be disappointed this year.
Retailers aren’t as panicked about the upcoming holiday shopping season as they were last year.
That’s bad news for shoppers because this could mean leaner sales, sparsely stocked stores and a run on the best deals for such sought-after items as smartphones, thigh-high boots, side-sling bags and ruffled cartigans.
With this scenario in mind, retail experts said their No. 1 tip for gift shoppers this year is grab what you want, when you see it.
“Merchants got burned badly last year when they were left with a lot of unsold merchandise after Christmas,” said George Whalin, retail expert and president and CEO of Retail Management Consultants.
And since the past 10 months have been a sales nightmare for most merchants, amid an ongoing spending slump, sellers have up to 30% less merchandise stocked for the year-end gift-buying season that unofficially kicks off the day after Thanksgiving.
The November-December period is critical for sellers because it can account for as much as 50% or more of retailers’ profits and sales for the full year.
