Last minute holiday shopping may drive up retail profits

Retailers are counting on big sales this weekend, with just three shopping days left before Christmas. But with more shoppers than ever waiting until the last minute, did they make it to the malls?

Nearly one in four shoppers waited until deep into the holiday season to finish their shopping this year, hoping for better deals, the National Retail Federation found.

Jessie Ferraro is one of them, making a final dash at the Sunrise Mall in Long Island, NY. "Some of the things that we put off just in case," she said. "Now they're on sale."

Retailer F&F planned their best deal of the season for the final days, says manager Martine Edmond. "We pile it high and watch it fly," she said.

It's likely this weekend will set a record for spending. For the first time, the final Saturday before Christmas, known as Super Saturday, was poised to be the biggest shopping day of the year, eclipsing Black Friday by almost $1 billion, says the firm Shoppertrak.

Retail analyst Jordan Goodman thinks he knows why.

"More and more people feel that if they wait until the last minute, they're going to save a lot of money and get better deals," Goodman said. "And to many extents, they 're right."

Goodman says some retailers had to scramble this year, with labor unrest at west coast ports slowing the delivery of hot items -- including apparel -- to stores nationwide.

And traditional retailers face other challenges, with foot traffic down a sharp 14 percent last year.

"Because people are going online and buying things, in many cases, cheaper," said Goodman. "They've got more of a selection, and they can get the stuff sent to them."

Consumers, though, are in a better mood. With confidence at its highest since 2007, partially due to lower gas prices. One third of shoppers tell America's Research Group they're spending more because of those savings.

But they're spending later, at a cost to the bottom line.

"Retailer profits are going to be relatively lower this year because they have to give such enormous promotional discounts," said Goodman.

Tomorrow, Nielsen plans to release its updated holiday shopping forecase. It projects a "conservative" but "encouraging" sales increase of nearly two percent over last year.