Stores push deals in bid to lure holiday shoppers

Nearly 156 million people — or 66 percent of Americans — plan to or are considering taking advantage of Saturday sales to complete their holiday gift lists, according to a survey released Friday by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics. The survey found that more people said they planned to shop on Saturday than those who aimed to shop over Thanksgiving weekend in an earlier survey.

Still, given the quirk in the calendar that makes this weekend the last full weekend before Christmas, retailers including Best Buy, Gap and J.C. Penney, have set an earlier deadline to order holiday gifts this year, according to StellaService, which tracks online services at retailers. Wal-Mart, along with others, is encouraging online shoppers to pick up their merchandise at the store.

Target will be offering last-minute shoppers deals that are good only for a day on certain in-demand products like children’s sleepwear and fragrance sets.

Still, plenty of shoppers plan to take their time.

Christine Bunker Tobia of Queens says she mostly shops at Macy’s but likes to wait to get the best deals. She’s been stopping by Macy’s New York Herald Square store often to check the prices.

“I’m looking for a special sale,” she said last weekend. “I may wait another week.”