Come July 4, prices revert to full retail as stores prepare for the fall.
In November, a mountain of merchandise is delivered to stores preparing for the holiday shopping season.
The company says it made the decision earlier this year and will carry out the change as stores prepare for fall merchandise.
By Memorial Day, I am usually rummaging the stores, preparing for the looming meltdown, hoping for salvation in linen pants and moisture-wicking shirts.
The focus this week is on retail sales, as stores prepare for the traditional start to the holiday shopping season on Friday.
"We love it," said Wendy Glickman, vice president of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts in Southern California, adding that the store prepared for the crowds with extra staff and extra doughnuts.
She stood clutching a white plastic H&M bag full of $9.90 tank tops, leaning on a light pole outside the store, preparing for her next foray into the crowds.
A day later, the moment was over, and here we all were, one foot in Tuesday's pageantry, the other in the dreary present, part of us in the drama unfolding in Washington, part in the priced-to-sell boxes of Guitar Hero and Rock Band, the Zen Mozaic MP3 players, the Aloha Hawaii mouse pads, the XP1 gaming chair, the techie detritus at a bankrupt store preparing for liquidation.
Around the country, stores prepared rather nervously last week for the crucial hol iday season, aware that its total would mean the differ ence between a sales gain and decline for the year.
Most of the ubiquitous logos of the highway, like Mobil, Exxon, Chevron, Shell and the chains that own service stations and convenience stores, were prepared for the deadline.
