By Parija B. Kavilanz, CNNMoney.com staff writer
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- With Christmas exactly a week away, the 2006 holiday shopping season is shaping up for a nail-biting finish after the latest industry survey released Monday showed millions of shoppers still haven't even started buying their gifts.
According to the 2006 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey from the National Retail Federation (NRF), 23 million consumers, or 10.8 percent of shoppers, are estimated to have completely finished their holiday shopping.
But more troubling for retailers are the 33 million consumers, or 15.4 percent of shoppers, who admitted they haven't gotten cracking yet. The trend to procrastinate doesn't bode well for merchants. The November-December shopping season fuels as much as 50 percent of sales and profits at many chains.
The National Retail Federation estimates holiday sales during November-December will grow 5 percent to $457.4 billion, slower than last year's 6.1 percent increase. Also worrisome to merchants is that the average person has completed 53.1 percent of their shopping versus 54.6 percent at this time last year, the report said.
Moreover, the saving grace for retailers is the extra shopping weekend they get.
"With Christmas falling on a Monday this year, retailers have one more weekend to bring in those holiday procrastinators," NRF CEO Tracy Mullin said in a statement. Source: CNNMoney.com
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So, here's the question of the day from Georganne & Rich:
This coming weekend is a gift. What do you have planned to attract shoppers to YOUR Store on Saturday, December 23? Do you have the most wanted holiday items on sale? Have you handed out 50% off of any one item coupons that are redeemable on Saturday, December 23?
Or perhaps you have chosen to sell your gift cards this week only at 20% off -- a $20 gift card costs the customer just $16, but is still redeemable for $20. This is a great idea, but here's the kicker: make them redeemable only after Christmas, that way they cannot be used to buy holiday gifts. Something like 80% of gift cards are redeemed for more than face value and 40% are redeemed for twice the face value. And approximately 18% are never redeemed -- you can't lose!
If you haven't anything planned to build store traffic and sales this last weekend before Christmas, PLEASE DO IT NOW!
