Retailers focus on convenience as Christmas nears
Retailers are focusing on convenience in the holiday season's home stretch.
Some stores will offer 24-hour shopping or help you make sure the item you want is in the store before you even get into the car. Others are trying to rectify early missteps.
Best Buy Co Inc made a bad merchandise bet and watched sales fall as shoppers looked past pricey 3D and Internet television technologies this year.
But the electronics chain may be an outlier in an otherwise improved shopping season, with the National Retail Federation raising its holiday sales forecast this week.
Reuters is monitoring the holiday strategies of department store chain JC Penney Co Inc, discounter Target Corp, Kmart parent Sears Holdings Corp, Best Buy and Toys R Us.
A sixth company that Reuters had been following, teen apparel chain Aeropostale Inc, had a different change of heart, based on a media report that it is setting up a defense against a potential takeover bid.
Aeropostale has not commented on the report and did not respond to repeated requests for an update on its holiday strategy this week.
BEST BUY
Best Buy lost tech shoppers to mass merchants like Target and online retailer Amazon.com as it discounted less and promoted expensive 3D televisions this season.
The retailer acknowledged its misstep on Tuesday, when it reported a drop in quarterly sales at existing stores and lower-than-expected earnings.
After realising that "the consumer is definitely showing propensity at the low end," the retailer said it will now promote lower-priced 32-inch TVs and making price adjustments in its computer section.
"The US consumer is carefully considering his or her wallet and what they are going to buy for their holiday gift-giving," Dunn told Reuters in an interview, adding he expects sales volumes to be "enormous" in the 10 days before and after Christmas.
To boost customer traffic, Best Buy will offer free smartphones every day for the remainder of the holiday season. Customers will still need to sign the 2-year service agreement to get the phone.
TARGET
Troy Risch, executive vice president of stores, said the company brought more televisions into stores to shore up dwindling stocks of what have been a popular item this season. But it is not overstocked with other goods.
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