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Expert: Duty To Shop This Holiday Season

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Oct 10, 2008 10:47 am US/Mountain

Expert: Duty To Shop This Holiday Season

Reporting
Shaun Boyd
BROOMFIELD, Colo. (CBS4) ― Concerns about retail sales during the upcoming holiday shopping season could translate into big savings for consumers as businesses cut prices on key items to keep people coming in the door.

Results released Thursday show sales in 36 popular stores grew one percent in September. That's the worst growth rate since right after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"For the holidays, we've actually rolled back ten top toy items for $10," said Dennis Barkell, a Walmart store manager in Broomfield.

Rivals are scrambling to counter in what could be a toy price war this fall. And it is not just discount retailers who are in the game.

"It puts a Neiman Marcus in a new bracket because they don't ever want to think about themselves having to discount, but I think everybody going to be in discounting mode if they want to encourage people to shop," said Rich Wobbekind of the CU Leeds School of Business.

Wobbekind said discretionary spending is drying up. Sales at Dillards, JC Penny's, Saks and Neiman Marcus plummeted by double digits in September. Even discounters like Target were down.

The holiday season accounts for 20 to 50 percent of all retail sales.

"I normally tell people who ask to save more, Now I'm getting ready to tell people it's their duty to shop if you can afford it, you need to shop," said Wobbekind.

Colorado may be able to afford shopping more than other parts of the country because the economy in the state is among the strongest in the nation.

(© MMIX CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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