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Down to the wire Charleston Post Courier

18.12.09

Finished your Christmas shopping?

If not, you aren't alone.

About 42 million Americans had not even started their shopping by late last week, fewer than half have completed their shopping and about 35 percent plan to wrap up their purchases Saturday, according to the National Retail Federation.

People are procrastinating longer this year -- some because of the economy, others because they are waiting for the big markdowns during the final week.

What does this mean?

Shops and malls will be crowded this weekend, the last before the jolly ol' man comes calling one week from today.

"Retailers know the final lap counts the most and are planning to emphasize promotions and discounts to bring in last-minute shoppers," said Tracy Mullin, president of the National Retail Federation. "As Christmas Day creeps closer, retailers will be ready for an influx of procrastinators, from those who are checking the final names off their list to millions who haven't even started shopping."

Only about 8.6 percent of shoppers have finished their shopping, the retail federation survey found. The majority plan to finish this weekend. Only 11.9 percent plan to wait until Christmas Eve.

Shoppers can expect limited inventories on what remains on the shelves. Retailers bought less to avoid the steep discounts of 2008 when they slashed prices to move huge amounts of goods off the shelves in the aftermath of the financial market implosion.

Consumer Reports' latest shopping poll found that one-third of consumers reported an item they wanted was out of stock.

Retail sales, so far, have been modestly good compared with last year, and merchants hope to keep up that momentum heading into the final seven days of shopping. Earlier this week, Charleston-based America's Research Group founder and chief executive Britt Beemer upgraded his spending forecast for the first time in 19 years after electronics flew off the shelves faster than anticipated.

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