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American Morning
Waiting for the Shoppers
Aired December 26, 2002 - 08:14 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.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome back. Retailers are hoping the lure of deep discounts will bring out shoppers in droves today. They're really counting on that. The day after Christmas is, typically, one of the busiest shopping days of the year. But in this year, there's already been a disappointing one, by all standards, for retailers. How will consumers react?
That anybody's guess, and Mary Snow's guess, as well, who's been outside Macy's since 7 a.m. this morning when they opened here in New York City -- Mary, how are you doing?
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there, Sanjay. Well, you know, the doors should open at 7 a.m., and there are shoppers in there -- not huge crowds, but you know, you just walk through the doors here at Macy's and you'll see a big sign saying sales of 50 to 75 percent off. And on the first floor, there are a number of red cards out there, signaling discounts.
And as you said, retailers really hoping this final few days of 2002 will help make up for weak sales, leading up to the holidays, because this period makes up about 10 percent of all the holiday sales. Now, some of the consumers have been talking about -- some of the shoppers saying they're getting here early to avoid the crowds. Maria McGrown (ph) is one of those shoppers. Maria, good morning. Are you expecting to take advantage of the discounts today?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am.
SNOW: Tell -- I know you were buying a present for someone who hasn't received it, so we won't specify, but what kind of discounts are you looking for?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I'm hoping that I'm going to get something like 50 to 60 percent. If anything, I can be able to buy her two presents, so.
SNOW: Now, did you wait specifically for this day, so you can get a better price?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Actually, I ran out of time, so it was one of these -- I've got family coming today and, luckily, I'm able to take advantage of this.
SNOW: Did you make any changes in the way you did your Christmas shopping this year? Are you concerned about the economy?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am. I did a lot of it, cash only. And, in fact, I waited until my Christmas bonus, which is only a couple of days ago, so.
SNOW: OK. Maria, we'll let you go shopping. Thank you very much.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sanjay, back to you.
GUPTA: You know, Mary, the thing I -- the question I have is they have these big discounts the day after. Is it that they're so marked up before Christmas or are the stores going to be losing some money or barely making any money now after Christmas?
SNOW: Well, you know, that's interesting that you point that out, because I talked to a businesswoman earlier who said she's been watching the prices and she said that prices now are more in line with what they should be, so it'll be interesting to see how much money these retailers actually make.
GUPTA: All right. OK. Note to self as to when I'm going to be doing my shopping from now on.
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 - 08:14 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome back. Retailers are hoping the lure of deep discounts will bring out shoppers in droves today. They're really counting on that. The day after Christmas is, typically, one of the busiest shopping days of the year. But in this year, there's already been a disappointing one, by all standards, for retailers. How will consumers react?
That anybody's guess, and Mary Snow's guess, as well, who's been outside Macy's since 7 a.m. this morning when they opened here in New York City -- Mary, how are you doing?
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there, Sanjay. Well, you know, the doors should open at 7 a.m., and there are shoppers in there -- not huge crowds, but you know, you just walk through the doors here at Macy's and you'll see a big sign saying sales of 50 to 75 percent off. And on the first floor, there are a number of red cards out there, signaling discounts.
And as you said, retailers really hoping this final few days of 2002 will help make up for weak sales, leading up to the holidays, because this period makes up about 10 percent of all the holiday sales. Now, some of the consumers have been talking about -- some of the shoppers saying they're getting here early to avoid the crowds. Maria McGrown (ph) is one of those shoppers. Maria, good morning. Are you expecting to take advantage of the discounts today?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am.
SNOW: Tell -- I know you were buying a present for someone who hasn't received it, so we won't specify, but what kind of discounts are you looking for?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I'm hoping that I'm going to get something like 50 to 60 percent. If anything, I can be able to buy her two presents, so.
SNOW: Now, did you wait specifically for this day, so you can get a better price?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Actually, I ran out of time, so it was one of these -- I've got family coming today and, luckily, I'm able to take advantage of this.
SNOW: Did you make any changes in the way you did your Christmas shopping this year? Are you concerned about the economy?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am. I did a lot of it, cash only. And, in fact, I waited until my Christmas bonus, which is only a couple of days ago, so.
SNOW: OK. Maria, we'll let you go shopping. Thank you very much.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sanjay, back to you.
GUPTA: You know, Mary, the thing I -- the question I have is they have these big discounts the day after. Is it that they're so marked up before Christmas or are the stores going to be losing some money or barely making any money now after Christmas?
SNOW: Well, you know, that's interesting that you point that out, because I talked to a businesswoman earlier who said she's been watching the prices and she said that prices now are more in line with what they should be, so it'll be interesting to see how much money these retailers actually make.
GUPTA: All right. OK. Note to self as to when I'm going to be doing my shopping from now on.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
