Jackie Barber started her shopping Wednesday, hitting Marshalls, TJ Maxx and Loehmann's. She expected to shop this weekend and through the week. She normally doesn't wait this late to shop, but she said the economy has her a little anxious. The 55-year-old homemaker who lives in Baltimore is looking for deals and buying only for her nine grandchildren this year.
"I'm waiting for the bargains," she said "The stores are not doing well, so I know there are going to be markdowns.
The National Retail Federation reported this week that 41 million people had not started their shopping yet and only 8 percent are finished entirely. Some people will skip the stores altogether. A separate study by Consumer Reports found that as people deal with money problems, 69 percent of them are limiting their gift giving, making presents or not giving anything.
"I don't believe these last days before Christmas are going to be able to make a substantial dent in the problematic sales season," said Daniel Howard, a professor of marketing at the Southern Methodist University Cox School of Business and an expert on consumer habits. "The country is in the midst of a recession. People are afraid, and when people are afraid they don't spend their money."
Stephanie Phair, 28, said she is not buying gifts this year because she is worried about job security in the shaky economy. Her job has been secure, but she's saving her money to be safe.
"I'm just worried about what could happen," said Phair, who drives an armored truck for a living.
Retail spending was way down last month despite a strong Black Friday, the nickname given for the day after Thanksgiving because it is the day retailers traditionally see their ledgers move into the black. And retailers report that shopping has remained slow this month.
NRF says the holiday season, when most retailers ring up the bulk of their sales for the year, will be the worst in six years. The trade group predicts that holiday sales will increase 2.2 percent to $470 billion, well below the 10-year average increase of 4.4 percent. That's the slowest growth since 2002, when sales rose 1.3 percent. The International Council of Shopping Centers predicts a 1.7 percent sales increase.
"Come January, when retailers report their earnings, I think we're going to see drops like we've never seen before," said Marci Kopacz, national managing principal at Grant Thornton Corporate Advisory and Restructuring Services.
