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CNN Live At Daybreak

For Retailers, It's Already Christmas

Aired November 27, 2002 - 05:50   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: If you have walked through a shopping mall lately, you may think that you missed a holiday. After all, Thanksgiving is tomorrow.
But as CNN's Charles Molineaux reports, for retailers it is already Christmas.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHARLES MOLINEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At the mall, it's beginning to look a whole lot like, well, you get the idea. From bolting together the tree...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're trying to create that winter wonderland feeling.

MOLINEAUX: ... to scattering the plastic snow, retailers have their halls decked, lighting up shoppers' spirits...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like it. We come to the mall earlier so we can be in the Christmas mood a lot earlier.

MOLINEAUX (on camera): Does it get you in the mood?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, absolutely. And that's what Christmas is all about, giving, loving.

MOLINEAUX (voice-over): And skepticism.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Way too early. I think the market's being pushed on people and I think by the time Christmas gets here, people are going to be ready for Easter.

MOLINEAUX: The National Retail Federation predicts the slowest growth in holiday sales in five years. The economy is soft, consumers have come to expect cut rate prices and the closest thing to a hot toy this year is Rapunzel Barbie? Retail watchers say that makes it critical for stores to have the right decor to bring cautious shoppers in and get them to spend more time shopping.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our numbers say that a store that is very well decorated for Christmas will see at least a 13, 15, 18 percent increase in sales over those stores that are either poorly decorated or not decorated at all.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's about the entire shopping experience. MOLINEAUX: Marketing specialists say they strive for a look and feel ideally suited to their target customers. So the plush decor of a high end premium department store or a shopping mall...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There are your classic ornaments, the balls, bells. We have antique bells and tassels that are throughout the center, just a very elegant, classic, traditional look.

MOLINEAUX: ... is miles from the razzle dazzle of a toy store or family oriented mall.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Brighter colors, more activities, a little, you know, lively, things constantly going on in every courtyard.

MOLINEAUX (on camera): A little more kitsch?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A little more kitsch, exactly. Kids really respond to that.

MOLINEAUX: Retailers routinely try to make their Christmas transformation unobtrusive and fast, sometimes going from standard procedure to seasonal spectacular in just a couple of quick nights. And even if it is too fast for some shoppers, jumping the gun a little doesn't seem to hurt.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When decorations are out early, I don't think consumers are not going there because there's decorations. I just find them not buying the items that you may be putting out early.

MOLINEAUX (voice-over): And now those strings of light have a little more weight hanging from them, because this year's late Thanksgiving means the shortest holiday shopping season possible. But consultants say retailers must resist the temptation to cut back because holiday decorations can be the most efficient marketing investment a business makes.

Charles Molineaux, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired November 27, 2002 - 05:50   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: If you have walked through a shopping mall lately, you may think that you missed a holiday. After all, Thanksgiving is tomorrow.
But as CNN's Charles Molineaux reports, for retailers it is already Christmas.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHARLES MOLINEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At the mall, it's beginning to look a whole lot like, well, you get the idea. From bolting together the tree...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're trying to create that winter wonderland feeling.

MOLINEAUX: ... to scattering the plastic snow, retailers have their halls decked, lighting up shoppers' spirits...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like it. We come to the mall earlier so we can be in the Christmas mood a lot earlier.

MOLINEAUX (on camera): Does it get you in the mood?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, absolutely. And that's what Christmas is all about, giving, loving.

MOLINEAUX (voice-over): And skepticism.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Way too early. I think the market's being pushed on people and I think by the time Christmas gets here, people are going to be ready for Easter.

MOLINEAUX: The National Retail Federation predicts the slowest growth in holiday sales in five years. The economy is soft, consumers have come to expect cut rate prices and the closest thing to a hot toy this year is Rapunzel Barbie? Retail watchers say that makes it critical for stores to have the right decor to bring cautious shoppers in and get them to spend more time shopping.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our numbers say that a store that is very well decorated for Christmas will see at least a 13, 15, 18 percent increase in sales over those stores that are either poorly decorated or not decorated at all.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's about the entire shopping experience. MOLINEAUX: Marketing specialists say they strive for a look and feel ideally suited to their target customers. So the plush decor of a high end premium department store or a shopping mall...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There are your classic ornaments, the balls, bells. We have antique bells and tassels that are throughout the center, just a very elegant, classic, traditional look.

MOLINEAUX: ... is miles from the razzle dazzle of a toy store or family oriented mall.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Brighter colors, more activities, a little, you know, lively, things constantly going on in every courtyard.

MOLINEAUX (on camera): A little more kitsch?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A little more kitsch, exactly. Kids really respond to that.

MOLINEAUX: Retailers routinely try to make their Christmas transformation unobtrusive and fast, sometimes going from standard procedure to seasonal spectacular in just a couple of quick nights. And even if it is too fast for some shoppers, jumping the gun a little doesn't seem to hurt.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When decorations are out early, I don't think consumers are not going there because there's decorations. I just find them not buying the items that you may be putting out early.

MOLINEAUX (voice-over): And now those strings of light have a little more weight hanging from them, because this year's late Thanksgiving means the shortest holiday shopping season possible. But consultants say retailers must resist the temptation to cut back because holiday decorations can be the most efficient marketing investment a business makes.

Charles Molineaux, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com