On Retailing

Tuesday, December 19, 2000

Stores offer incentives to early-bird shoppers

Getting them in the door is more than half the battle for retail merchants

For many retailers, the early bird catches the wallet.
   Even after the post-Thanksgiv-ing weekend shopping surge, some retailers, such as Sears and Zale's, continue offering incentives to bring customers into their stores earlier in the day.
   Sears, for example, held a sale from 7 to 8 a.m. Saturday, offering customers a $10 discount coupon on purchases of more than $20; at Zale's, customers could get 10 percent off merchandise but only between 8 and 11 a.m.
   It's a little incentive that could have a big impact, merchants said.
   "It sets the tone for the rest of the day," said Nick Gomez, store manager of Zale's in Sunrise Mall. "If you start early, you usually stay busy all day."
   Dave Grebb, store operational manager at Sears in Sunrise Mall, said the early bird practice plays on a natural buying habit: one-stop shopping.
   Though buyers may be attracted by doorbusters - retailer lingo for the year's best-selling items - shoppers may continue looking around for other gifts because they're in the store.
   "If the customer comes to your store first, they'll look for more items than just the doorbusters," he said.
   Traditionally, many shops open early right after Thanksgiving as holiday shoppers clog stores.
   This year, retailers such as Kay Bee Toys, Sears, Mervyn's and Ward's opened as early as 5 a.m. while Padre Staples Mall began business an hour earlier and Sunrise Mall moved up two hours.
   Retailer competition has also pushed up the importance of the early sale, Grebb said.
   "We as competitors have dictated that . . . as each of us opens early," he said.
   Throughout most of the year, though, sales in the early morning aren't big hits, he said. That changes during the weekends after Thanksgiving, though, because of Yuletide fears. "It's time constraints," Grebb said. "People look at their calendar and think, 'It's time to get that shopping done.' "
   About 50 percent of last year's holiday spending occurred within two weeks of Christmas, according to the National Retail Federation. Last year was also the only time in the past four years that the top four shopping days of the season all occurred in the final week leading up to Christmas, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers, a global trade association.
   In 1995, the last time the holiday season lasted 31 days, the final two weeks accounted for more than 60 percent of all holiday purchases, according to the council.
   Attracting more customers will be crucial this year, as analysts predict a less profitable holiday buying season since holiday shopping has tapered off since Thanksgiving weekend's torrid start.
   According to the Commerce Department, retail sales fell by 0.4 percent in November. The shopping center council reported that sales at specialty stores decreased 9.8 percent for the holiday season's second week compared to the same period in 1999.
   From Nov. 24 through Dec. 10, sales were down 6.2 percent from last year, according to the council.
   Reasons for the sluggishness range from higher oil and gas prices to the lack of a hot toy item, such as Pokemon last year. The now-slowing economy's former boom may also have played a role, some analysts said, because it provided enough money to buy more gifts before this year's season.
   But some local retailers said holiday sales have been so far so good, which means they'll say so long to any early sale notions.
   "Right now, the price point that everything is set at is appealing for everyone," said Raquel Holden, assistant manager at Pier 1 Imports in Moore Plaza.
   And even those who offer the sales say there's no guarantee they will work.
   "It's very hard to predict," Gomez said. "You don't know how the people are going to respond."
  

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On Retailing is published every other Tuesday. Ideas may be submitted to: On Retailing, Corpus Christi Caller-Times, P.O. Box 9136, Corpus Christi, Texas 78469; e-mail Michael Hines at hinesm@caller.com; fax items to (361) 886-3732; or call (361) 886-4316.

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