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CNN Live At Daybreak
Holiday Shopping: Post-Christmas Sales
Aired December 26, 2002 - 06:38 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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Let's talk about the shopping season, because it has been lackluster. But can retailers make up for it with strong after-Christmas sales?
CNN's Mary Snow is outside of Macy's in New York with that story.
Good morning.
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
Yes, I guess if you won Powerball, you don't have to worry about discounts, but certainly, the retailers are hoping to have some strong sales today.
Here at Harold's Square in Manhattan, Macy's is opening its doors at 7:00 a.m., but other Macy's across the country opened its stores at 6:00, and so have other big retailers from Wal-Mart, Kmart opened its stores at 6:00 a.m., J.C. Penney's, Sears. And some big sales, if you go on Target's Web site, Target is announcing sales of up to 50 percent off on some of its items; Wal-Mart also announcing big discounts.
And this time period after the holidays makes up for about 10 percent of all holiday sales. You know, we heard earlier this week of some weakness from Wal-Mart and the parent of Macy's and Bloomingdales, which is Federated Department Stores, the retailer is really hoping to make up for it in these final days.
And also, one thing that hasn't really been factored in, a lot of the retailers are reporting strong gift cards and gift certificates, and it's really unclear how much that will make up for the retail sales. So, those numbers will only come in when these things are redeemed, but certainly Macy's is expecting some crowds today -- Carol.
COSTELLO: You know, Mary, maybe people are getting smarter. They know that the big sales will come after Christmas, so they just give gifts of, you know, gift certificates. That's just smart.
SNOW: Absolutely. And you know, you hear from more and more retailers that people are really pushing back, waiting on their shopping, and certainly waiting perhaps until after the holidays to pick up what they want and get a better deal.
COSTELLO: Exactly. Mary Snow, thanks so much.
SNOW: OK.
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 December 26, 2002 - 06:38 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Let's talk about the shopping season, because it has been lackluster. But can retailers make up for it with strong after-Christmas sales?
CNN's Mary Snow is outside of Macy's in New York with that story.
Good morning.
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
Yes, I guess if you won Powerball, you don't have to worry about discounts, but certainly, the retailers are hoping to have some strong sales today.
Here at Harold's Square in Manhattan, Macy's is opening its doors at 7:00 a.m., but other Macy's across the country opened its stores at 6:00, and so have other big retailers from Wal-Mart, Kmart opened its stores at 6:00 a.m., J.C. Penney's, Sears. And some big sales, if you go on Target's Web site, Target is announcing sales of up to 50 percent off on some of its items; Wal-Mart also announcing big discounts.
And this time period after the holidays makes up for about 10 percent of all holiday sales. You know, we heard earlier this week of some weakness from Wal-Mart and the parent of Macy's and Bloomingdales, which is Federated Department Stores, the retailer is really hoping to make up for it in these final days.
And also, one thing that hasn't really been factored in, a lot of the retailers are reporting strong gift cards and gift certificates, and it's really unclear how much that will make up for the retail sales. So, those numbers will only come in when these things are redeemed, but certainly Macy's is expecting some crowds today -- Carol.
COSTELLO: You know, Mary, maybe people are getting smarter. They know that the big sales will come after Christmas, so they just give gifts of, you know, gift certificates. That's just smart.
SNOW: Absolutely. And you know, you hear from more and more retailers that people are really pushing back, waiting on their shopping, and certainly waiting perhaps until after the holidays to pick up what they want and get a better deal.
COSTELLO: Exactly. Mary Snow, thanks so much.
SNOW: OK.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
