If you've been holding off from shopping in hopes of retailers giving you better deals, you should rethink your plan. The word on the street is that after last year's overstuffed holiday, retailers are cutting their inventory by as much as 15 percent to dodge huge markdowns that cut into profits.
Like every year, there are items that are more popular than others and there will not be enough to go around, for example the Zhu Zhu pet hamsters. Except this year items that you wouldn't expect to be gone are, and stores will not be restocking their shelves. Macy's said that Ugg boots are sold out at most of their stores and they will not be getting anymore in and many stores are running out of Christmas lights with no plans to order more in.
Retailers are finding this strategy very helpful. Since there are only a certain amount of products, it makes the consumer demand for them higher. Shoppers are more likely pay full price for the item if it is harder to find. Further, stores will sell all of their products without any leftovers. However, the right number of products can create a slippery slope. Stores who could have ordered and sold more of one product are losing sales to online disturbers like Amazon and eBay.
It will be interesting to hear how stores do this holiday season when typically 40 percent of the holiday sales come in during the 10 days before Christmas.
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