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Last-minute buying all the rage

Shoppers -- some holding out for the best deals, others just not inspired to shop earlier -- headed for the nation's malls and stores for last-minute gifts or gift cards the day before Christmas.

With shoppers delaying their holiday shopping even longer than last year, merchants depended even more on the final hours before Christmas and post-holiday business to salvage the season.

The exceptions have been online retailers, sellers of consumer electronics, and luxury stores, which have continued to generate strong gains.

A longer season between Thanksgiving and Christmas, a late Hanukkah and the lack of must-have items, except for gadgets such as Microsoft's Xbox 360, flat-screen TVs and Apple's iPod digital music player, have all helped consumers prolong their shopping.

Meanwhile, merchants with a big presence in New York City, such as Bloomingdale's, Saks Inc and Macy's parent, Federated Department Stores Inc, were hit by a three-day transit strike that left commuters too tired to shop.

"It was just a horrible time for them to have picked to go on strike," said Lachaun Brooks of New York. "It just wasn't fair."

Michael Gould, chairman of Bloomingdale's, said the flagship would not be able to recoup lost sales but the affect on the overall Bloomingdale's chain would be minimal. However, Saks Inc, which operates Saks Fifth Avenue, could take a bigger hit, analysts said.

Kathleen Waugh, a spokeswoman at Toys R Us Inc, said the strike had a negligible financial impact on the overall chain, and expects the company to meet holiday sales goals.

For plenty of national chains far away from New York City, it was also a last-minute waiting game.

"We are seeing nice traffic up to the last minute. We think [the holiday season] is going right down to the wire," said Gail Lavielle, a spokeswoman at Wal-Mart Stores Inc, which confirmed on Saturday its December sales growth forecast of 2 percent to 4 percent. The estimate is based on same-store sales, or sales at stores opened at least a year.

The final days before Christmas and post-holiday business, boosted in part by gift card sales, have become increasingly critical for retailers. Gift card sales are not recorded on a retailers' balance sheet until the cards are redeemed.

According to BigResearch, which conducted a poll for the National Retail Federation, consumers are expected to spend a total of US$18.48 billion on gift cards this holiday season, up 6.6 percent from a year ago. But many stores and malls are reporting much bigger gains.

David Contis, executive vice president and chief operating officer of California-based Macerich Co, which operates 80 malls nationwide, reported that gift card sales for his centers soared 65 percent on Friday from a year ago.

"I just think there is nothing to buy right now," he said.
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