If you thought Black Friday was crazy, brace yourselves.
For those who've waited until the last minute (again) to do your Christmas shopping, you're in luck. Kohl's (KSS 2.46%) and a few other retailers have your back. The department store has extended its hours of operation to satisfy the procrastinators among us.
And we're not just talking the typical closing at midnight or opening up at dawn hours extension. Kohl's is staying open for 108 straight hours, starting Friday morning at 6 a.m. and the stores aren't closing their doors until 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve. Why? According to Jackie Kacala, a spokesperson for the company, Kohl's is doing this as, "an added convenience to shoppers."
Source: Nicholas Eckhart
But really, the motivation seems to be a bit more about the bottom line than that. According to the Adobe Digital Index, the fact that Thanksgiving fell late this year means that retailers missed out on six shopping days before Christmas and $1.5 billion worth of sales.
By staying open for more than 100 hours straight, retailers like Kohl's hope to make up for some of the sales lost post-Black Friday. The shop-tip-you-drop (or until the employees drop, as seems to be the more likely scenario) rush will make up for a little over four days worth of shopping time. Add in the 24-hour lead up to Black Friday shopping and Kohl's has pretty much caught up all of that lost time.
And already, other companies are following their lead. Macy's (M 0.40%) is staying open for 107 hours. Toys R Us is giving shoppers 87 hours of uninterrupted shopping time beginning on Saturday at 6 a.m. until Christmas Eve at 9 p.m.
Think that's impressive? Try the fact that the main Toys R Us store in New York City—located in Times Square, no less— has been open since 8 a.m. on Dec. 1 and will stay that way for 566 hours straight. Take that Kohl's!
On the surface, it seems like this around-the-clock shopping plan won't work—who'd go out in the cold at 2 a.m. to buy a blender? But combine the store availability with the jaw-dropping discounts, coupons, and deals these retailers are offering and the catch-up plan might just help retailers recoup some of those lost sales.
But we can't help but notice the sheer quantity of major mega, everything must go type deals populating advertising this holiday season. And it's not just our imaginations. In fact, financial services firm BMO Capital Markets shows that the number of discounts being offered by retail stores are up 13% this year.
While the economy isn't in as much of a slump as it was several years ago, consumers still don't have a ton of extra cash to spend on luxuries. This means retailers have to make their merchandise ultra attractive via discounts. And with just about every retailer offering major deals, the market is competitive, to say the least.
By keeping their doors open for longer, Kohl's and other retailers are hoping to scrape up as many sales as they can before Christmas Day arrives. And even the worst procrastinators will have plenty of options up to the very last minute.
