Wal-Mart (WMT) And Macy's (M): Holiday "Hail Mary"

Wal-Mart (WMT) and Macy's (M) are going to throw the retail ball up in the air just before Christmas and hope that the consumer catches it. Both stores plan to open some outlets 24-hours a day.

According to Bloomberg "today and tomorrow, retailers may record 9 percent of all sales from November's Thanksgiving holiday to Christmas, according to Michael Niemira, chief economist at the International Council of Shopping Centers.

A number of retail experts believe that this will be the slowest holiday for spending in five years. Online spending is only up 19% compared to an improvement of about 26% a year ago. Purchases by people with household incomes below $50,000 have been especially disappointing.

Keeping stores open late may not solve any problems. If the longer hours are combined with deeper discounts, it is unclear whether retailers will come out ahead.

Douglas A. McIntyre