Transcripts

Retailers Hope To Ring in Holiday Sales From Cyberspace

SUSIE GHARIB: On this Veterans Day, retailers across the country are focused on another holiday: Christmas. With only 43 shopping days left, there are mixed reports on how much consumers will open their wallets this holiday season. Macy's stock tumbled more than 8 percent today after reporting a quarterly loss and delivering a cautious outlook for the holidays. Now the focus is on Wal-Mart. The giant retailer reports its quarterly numbers tomorrow morning. But there is one bright spot on the retail landscape: the web. As Erika Miller reports, online purchases are expected to capture a bigger share of holiday sales this year.

ERIKA MILLER, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: This browser is being replaced increasingly by this browser. Retail expert Britt Beemer says there has been a shift in the way Americans shop.

BRITT BEEMER, CEO, AMERICA 'S RESEARCH GROUP: When you look at the consumer today, particularly the American female -- browsing is almost an art that has gone away because people haven't got time to spend money. They haven't got time to waste time and there is not anybody to help them in the stores.

MILLER: Put another way, Internet retailers have been gaining competitive advantages over bricks and mortar stores. Forrester research analyst Patti Freeman Evans says it's easier to compare prices online.

PATTI FREEMAN EVANS, RETAIL EXPERT, FORRESTER RESEARCH: The economic environment is a bit of a catalyst to people shopping online. They're very conservative. They're planful. So they are actually researching their purchases more. And online is a really, really good place to do that.

MILLER: But people are not just researching and browsing, they're also buying. Forrester predicts Internet retailers will see 8 percent sales growth this holiday season compared to last year. That comes as retail sales overall are expected to decline. Many retailers are playing to their strengths, putting their best deals on their web sites and enhancing offers with free shipping. But price is not the only advantage for web retailers.

EVANS: They can be more flexible and change things on their web site -- or products on their web site at the drop of a hat. Whereas an offline store may have cases and cases of inventory that they actually have to move. So the online environment is very, very quick to change.

MILLER: But Internet sales represent only about 7 percent of total holiday sales, according to Forrester. Some think it's even lower. The Monday after Thanksgiving is called cyber Monday, because it is usually the biggest online sales day of the year. But this year December 17 could also be big. That's when 500 retailers are expected to participate in a free shipping day that guarantees delivery by Christmas Eve. Erika Miller, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, New York.