The holiday shopping season keeps on ringing

For retailers, this week and next are expected to bring strong customer traffic as consumers hunt for discounts.

Nationally, retailers saw a 2.3 increase sales for the week ending Dec. 26 compared with last year, according to a report released Tuesday by the International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs.

Gift cards

Many consumers are in stores this week using gift cards they got for Christmas.

Retailers like gift cards because they drive customer traffic and people often spend more than the value of the card once they’re in the store, said Scott Testa, professor of business at Cabrini College near Philadelphia.

Consumers regularly lose gift cards, he noted, which also benefits a chain’s bottom line.

“My advice to consumers is use it or lose it,” Testa said.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/6791488.html

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