NEW YORK (AP) — Some stores are ending the holidayshopping season the same way they began it —
with round-the-clock,marathon shopping hours.Kohl’s for the first time is staying openfor essentially five
days straight, from 6 a.m. on Friday through 6p.m. on Christmas Eve.Macy’s and Kmart are opening some of
theirstores for more than 100 hours in a row from Friday through ChristmasEve. And Toys R Us is staying open
for 87 hours straight starting onSaturday, which is typically the second biggest shopping day of theyear.The
expanded hours in the final days before Christmas arereminiscent of how some retailers typically begin the
season on the dayafter Thanksgiving known as Black Friday. The strategy comes as storestry to recoup lost
sales during a season that’s been hobbled by a numberof factors.Despite a recovering economy, many Americans
havebeen struggling with stagnant wages and other issues. On top of that,the time period between the
official holiday shopping kickoff on BlackFriday and the end of the season is six days shorter than a year
ago.That has given Americans less time to shop.Sales at U.S. storesrose 2 percent to $176.7 billion from
Nov. 1 through last Sunday,according to ShopperTrak. That’s a slower pace than the 2.4 percentincrease the
Chicago store data tracker expects for the entire two-monthseason.The disappointing growth pace has put more
pressure onretailers to get people into stores in the final days before Christmas. Alot is at stake because
they can make up to 40 percent of their revenuein November and December."It’s make or break for the
retailers,"said C. Britt Beemer, chairman of America’s Research Group, a consumerresearch company.
"They have to make up for lost ground."Retailershope the expanded hours will make last-minute
shopping easier forAmericans like Peter Sallese, who have either stayed out of stores sofar because of money
problems, inclement weather or other issues. Thefinancial executive from New York City said he’s usually
finished withshopping by mid-December, but with the shortened season, he fell behind."Basically,when I
came back from Thanksgiving, there was no time," Sallese said."Add in the snow and the freezing
weather, and you didn’t feel likeshopping."This isn’t the first year retailers have used marathonhours
to lure shoppers. Toys R Us will open for from 6 a.m. on Saturdayto 9 p.m. on Christmas Eve — the fourth
year it’s had marathon hours atthe end of the season. And this is the third year Kmart has
offeredround-the-clock hours: The discounter will open a little more than onetenth of its 1,100 stores from
6 a.m. on Friday until 10 p.m. onChristmas Eve.Macy’s began testing its 24-hour strategy in 2006,but it has
made tweaks this year. Most Macy’s locations were open for 48hours straight during the final two days before
Christmas last year.But this year, 37 of Macy’s 800 stores will be open for 107 hours from 7a.m. on Friday
to 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve.The rest of Macy’slocations will be open from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m., Friday through
Monday. Andon Christmas Eve, most Macy’s stores will be open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m."Ourcustomers love
the option to shop late night, overnight and/or firstthing in the morning," said Elina Kazan, a Macy’s
spokeswoman.____Follow: Anne D’Innocenzio at —www.Twitter.com/adinnocenzioCopyright 2013 The Associated
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