"You've got the bargain hunters looking for clearance merchandise. You have people redeeming gift cards that they received over Christmas -- and that will be a boost for traffic. And you'll also have returns," said Scott Krugman with the National Retail Federation.
A few Mexican tourists are starting their shopping tonight on the sidewalk, tomorrow, they'll be up early looking for deals.
"I hope that the sales for tomorrow will be better than the day after thanksgiving because they were not good at all," said Arely Mesta.
Department stores like Macy's and JC Penney are offering 50-80 percent off sales. Filene's Basement, up to 90 percent off with an extra 20-percent off coupon.
Retailers have their work cut out for them.
Nationwide, retail spending between November 1st and Christmas Eve was down 5.5 to 8 percent compared to last year.
Some sectors were especially bad. Women's apparel, down almost 23 percent while electronics, down almost 27 percent and luxury goods, down a whopping 34.5 percent.
Experts say the slump in holiday sales is due to the recession, of course, and also bad weather but even deep discounts like a 60 percent sale may not be able to lure in some people, who say they're suffering from 'shopping fatigue.'
The only bright spot, if you can call it that, was online sales are up 1.8 percent in the four weeks leading up to Christmas.
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WEB PRODUCED BY: Scott Curkin
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