Retailers want Christmas now

Nervous about the sagging economy, retailers are in a rush to get customers started on their Christmas shopping
Department store Kohl's extended its Saturday hours until midnight, offering 20 percent off already discounted toys. Walmart is hawking deeply discounted turkeys. And Sears launched "Black Friday Now" sales, nearly a month before the day after Thanksgiving, selling a 42-inch plasma TV on Saturday for $499, a discount of $151.
"I think retailers are very, very worried about the Christmas season — and they should be," said Britt Beemer, CEO of America's Research Group. "Nobody's had very spectacular sales all year. Everybody is figuring out their way to get their slice of the pie."
Shoppers are more skeptical this year — some almost to the point of saying, "bah, humbug." Jay Scott of Hendersonville said he'd be happy if he didn't have to buy any presents.
"We're making less, but everything else is going up, like our cable and water bills," he said. "We just got notices for those. We got hit with our electric last year."

Bad sales season expected

Scott and his wife, Kristy, took their 6-year-old son, Carson, to see Santa at the Bass Pro Shops on Sunday. As parents, they said they aren't asking for any presents. Kristy said they might splurge on a flat-screen TV if they can find a good enough deal.
"To me, there's not much difference in the prices," she said.
Holiday sales figures are expected to be in the doldrums this year because consumers, hit with unemployment, tighter finances and jitters about the economy, are planning to spend less on gifts. The National Retail Federation expects holiday sales to dip 1 percent, the second-worst holiday season since 1995, with two-thirds of customers saying the economy will affect their holiday plans.
Retailers "are trying to do what they can to lure customers in their front door by saying, 'Here is the deal now,' " Beemer said.

Shoppers' views differ

Some consumers like it, but some don't. Karri Davis of Frankfort, Ky., shopping on Sunday at Opry Mills, said she was a little aggravated by earlier sales and hype surrounding them. She considers herself immune to the blitz.