Economy points to ho-hum holiday

Lisa Schatz, owner of Cupcake, a clothing boutique in Fells Point, has cut back on inventory. (Baltimore Sun photo by Lloyd Fox / October 2, 2008)

At Hampden's trendy Double Dutch clothing boutique, shoppers are buying more from the sale rack and making fewer impulse purchases. At Chesapeake Wine Co. in Canton, they're choosing cheaper bottles of wine.

And at the Cupcake clothing boutique in Fells Point, the owners are ordering less inventory and subleasing some space to offset what they expect to be flat sales this year.

"People are very scared," Emily Levitas, owner of Gotta Have Bags in Hampden, said about shoppers.

As the national economic uncertainty leads customers to curb spending, retailers are facing the worst economic climate in years - and a gloomy forecast for the holiday season.

The nation's largest retailers are adjusting by offering steep discounts and promotions to clean out full racks of fall items that have been slow to sell.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is starting holiday sales this week, a week earlier than last year. Banana Republic recently had a 30-percent-off sale on all merchandise at its stores, and Restoration Hardware e-mailed $100 discount coupons for purchases of $400 or more. Neiman Marcus is sending out gift cards valued at $50 to $100 to lure shoppers into stores, showing that wealthy shoppers normally immune to early declines in the economy are also feeling pinched.

Locally, retailers are cutting prices and doing more promotions to compete for the dollars of cash-strapped shoppers. And they're scrutinizing their own spending.

The distressed economy has already sent some retailers, including Sharper Image and Boscov's, into bankruptcy.

Spending could decline even further as the problems on Wall Street continue and layoffs increase, analysts say.

Many consumers dealing with higher gas and food prices - and tighter credit - are reluctant or unable to spend.

Meanwhile, banks are starting to reduce limits and raise interest rates on the credit lines that retailers use to buy inventory and pay salaries, causing further trouble in the industry.

The National Retail Federation says the holiday season, when most retailers ring up the bulk of their sales for the year, will be the worst since 2002. The trade group predicts that holiday sales will increase 2.2 percent to $470 billion, well below the 10-year average increase of 4.4 percent, and the slowest growth since 2002, when sales rose 1.3 percent.

"It's going to be a very challenging holiday season for the retail industry," said federation spokesman Scott Krugman.

"Retailers are going to have to be very aggressive on price and create more of an emotional connection with their brands."

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is starting holiday sales by slashing the prices on popular toys. KB Toys also recently said it was cutting prices on more than 200 toys to $10 or less to "allow consumers to stretch their dollar in these challenging economic times."

"We hear [consumers] are nervous about the economy," said Wal-Mart spokeswoman E.R. Anderson. "They're shopping earlier, spending less and buying less expensive items."

That's why the sale rack has become so popular at Double Dutch. The owners expect flat sales this year, something they say they're happy with, given the economy.

"I think [shoppers] are coming with an intent for what they need, as opposed to: 'I'm going to look around and just get what I want,'" said Megan Luther, co-owner of Double Dutch. She has also noticed that shoppers are using more cash and debit cards instead of credit.

Annabelle MacNeal, a stylist browsing the racks at Double Dutch recently, said she's shopping more at thrift and second-hand stores. But she still likes to window shop and will buy something if it's good quality.

She avoids stores selling cheaper fashions that might not last as long.

Related topic galleries: Marketing, Baby Products, Games, and Toys, Neiman Marcus, Fells Point, Sales, Beverage Industry, Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

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