Special Report:Global Financial Crisis
by Chinese media writer Wang Jiangang
NEW YORK, Dec. 23 (Chinese media) -- Joanna Lee hates to
rise early in the cold winter, but on this past Saturday, she tried hard to
persuade herself to get up as early as possible so as to grab as many
marked-down merchandise as possible at Macy's.
To lure more shoppers, the flagship store of Macy's,
a chain of mid-range American department stores in Herald Square of Manhattan,
opened as early as 6 a.m. Saturday and offered "door-busting," with markdowns as
high as 60 percent along with coupon deals.
"It has saved me almost 200 dollars by rising 3 hours earlier than normal," said the 26-year-old PR manager of a small entertainment company, adding it was really a "bargain" worth her time and energy.
A shopper looks over discounted merchandise at Macy's department store in New York City, Dec. 23, 2008, the second to last shopping day before Christmas. (Chinese media/Reuters Photo)
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"It's our last one day sale before Christmas,"
announced Macy's in a full-page ad that ran in many U.S. newspapers, accompanied
by a 10-dollar coupon. The department store chain even kept its doors open 24
hours at some East Coast locations.
On the third floor of the flagship store, discount
signs seemed even more "eye-catching" these days than the merchandise. In the
men's suits section, many were on sale at a discount rate as high as 50 percent,
some even 60 percent. A Calvin Klein suit was registered at 350 dollars, but was
now 189.99 dollars only; another DKNY suit was registered 400 dollars, but was
now 239.99 dollars. Furthermore, the store offers an additional 15 percent
discount if customers open an account at Macy's.
On the main page of the Macy's website, this giant
retailer of the United States offered even steeper discounts: jewelry, 20
percent to 50 percent with an additional discount rate of 15 percent; sweaters,
50 percent to 60 percent discount; boots, 40 percent to 50 percent...
"Our business is not good now," a middle-aged
saleslady told Chinese media. "Customers are very picky and cautious on their spending,
so retailers have to slash a lot off so as to woo more customers."
"Sale! Big sale! We offer 85 percent discount,"
shrieked a young black man on the Sixth Avenue of Manhattan while passing out
flyers to passers-by.
"Best designer clothing," read the flyers.
In a store on the 36th street between the Sixth and
Fifth avenues, sales persons were busy serving customers coming in with the
flyers. A leather jacket was registered 345 dollars, but was now 65 dollars
only, a sweater was registered 46 dollars, and was now 16.
Although stores like Macy's and many others are
filled with customers with sweet Christmas carols like Jingle Bell and Silent
Night playing in the background, a newly published survey still relentlessly
indicates that nearly two-thirds of Americans say they have been hurt by the
economic downturn and that the country has slipped into a long-term decline.
A Washington Post-ABC News poll also found a rapidly
increasing share of Americans, or 66 percent, are worried about maintaining
their standard of living.
The 63 percent of Americans who say they have been
hurt financially by the recession constitute a higher proportion than the 53
percent who said they felt the pain of the 1991 recession. More than 20 percent
of those with jobs say they think it is likely they will lose their position in
the next year, higher than at any point in polls back to 1975.
Besides, the volatile, slumping stock market has
added to the anxiety: more than half say their families have suffered because of
the recent sharp drop on Wall Street, and nearly half are not confident they
will have sufficient assets to last through retirement.
An American-Chinese, who works in the advertisement
section of a Chinese publication in New York, said she used to buy clothes at
prices as high as 2,000 to 3,000 dollars each, but recently she only bought a
suit at a price "which was so cheap that I could hardly believe myself."
Battered by the Wall Street storm, the advertisement
income of her publication has decreased by at least one third, said the woman,
who asked not to be identified.
"The ebb and flow of my profession truly reflects the
economy," she said, adding that "it's high time for a stringent life."
In fact, retail sales have declined for five straight
months, and online sales registered their first holiday drop in seven years.
Going into last weekend, 41 million likely shoppers hadn't bought one gift,
according to a study by the National Retail Federation.
Santa Claus is knocking at the door, but this
Christmas will be surely different as many people can not "make spirits high."
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