Retailers hope for blizzard of sales this week

    According to a survey from the National Retail Federation, 42 million people had not even started their holiday shopping as of late last week

    According to a survey from the National Retail Federation, 42 million people had not even started their holiday shopping as of late last week. But those holiday procrastinators weren’t the only ones faced with major shopping set-backs during this weekend’s massive snow storm.

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    Linda Westphal – owner of Sports Works in Manayunk – had high hopes for the shopping weekend.

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    Westphal: It’s usually our biggest weekend of the season, and this weekend really was not anywhere near what we had anticipated.

    But the 23 inches of snow didn’t stop some center city residents from venturing out to find those last minute gifts at the Gallery at Market East. Marketing Director Maureen Weir says the gallery’s downtown location helped to give retailers a strong advantage in the storm.

    Weir: Where some of the shopping centers outside of the city closed early, we were able to remain open to accommodate those shoppers who came on foot and since public transportation was still running we were also getting shoppers in via public transportation.

    Amazon.com, and the online operations of J.C.Penney and Macy’s also fought for an edge during the storm by extending shipping deadlines and waiving fees to entice snowed-in shoppers.

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