Honolulu Star-Advertiser from Honolulu, Hawaii • B9

MONEY SATURDAY 122014 B9 Holiday sales grow at slower pace than expected Discounts and other incentives meant to draw shoppers have eaten away at profits By Anne DTnnocenzio Associated Press new york Despite an early start, sales data show that stores might once again have to rely on procrastina-tors to save the holiday shopping season. Sales rose 1.8 percent from Nov. 1 through Monday compared with the same period a year ago, according to payment technology company First Data Corp. The numbers are modest considering that the National Retail Federation, the nation's largest retail trade group, expects sales for the entire season November and December to rise 4.1 percent to $616.9 billion. The slow growth also comes at a time when retailers tried to do a number of things to jump-start the season and encourage shoppers to spend.

Some offered "holiday" discounts as early as Halloween instead of waiting until the day after Thanksgiving, known as Black Friday. And more stores opened on Thanksgiving itself to offer people early enticements to spend. But the incentives seem to have backfired. Shoppers took advantage of the earlier sales and hours, but that had the effect of siphoning away sales from Black Friday, which is typically the biggest sales day of the year. "The numbers are lower than what people expected them to be, so it will be interesting to see what happens in the final days of the holiday shopping season," said Rishi Chhabra, First Data's vice president of information and analytics.

As a result of the modest sales, retailers are making a big final push to lure shoppers into stores. And they're employing tactics they've had to use since the recession. Dennis May, CEO and president of Hhgregg said the consumer electronics chain added a "buy more, save more" sales event that is ending this week. And it's also extending the cutoff date for online shoppers who want to pick up their items in the store until noon Christmas Eve. Last year the cutoff date was Dec.

23. "I THINK THE consumer is very savvy" he said. "They're not shopping with abandon. They're not throwing their budgets to the wind." Major retailers including Macy's and Toys Us are offering marathon shopping hours. Kohl's, for instance, is opening its stores for 132 hours straight until 6 p.m.

Christmas Eve. That compares with a 108-hour stretch last year. "Customers can rely on us around the clock for their last-minute gift-giving solutions," said Michelle Gass, Kohl's chief customer officer. Despite the frenzy, retailers don't necessarily have to panic. There still are big potential spending days ahead, including Saturday, which ASSOCIATED PRESS NOV.

27 Retail sales rose 1.8 percent from Nov. 1 through Dec. 15, according to data provided by First Data which tracks purchases at 800,000 stores including online. The modest growth comes despite the heavy discounting customary throughout the season. Giselle Basurto of Mexico shops at a Kmart store in New York.

action was flat at $73.85, showing how heavy discounting can hurt the bottom line. "I don't think it's great out there," said Ron Friedman, head of the retail and consumer products group at accounting firm Marcum LLP, who estimates that holiday sales will be up 2 percent from last year. "People are out in the stores and shopping, but they're all looking for deals." Indeed, some shoppers pay regular price anymore. Indeed, C. Britt Beemer, chairman of America's Research Group, said 60 percent of 1,000 shoppers polled last weekend said they were buying only deals this holiday season.

That compares with 40 percent last year. BUT ALL THE discounts eat away profits. According to First Data, the number of transactions rose 1.8 percent, but the average trans T-MOBILE: Customers did not authorize charges TV RATINGS NOVEMBER RANKINGS The November Nielsen ratings for local news programs were released Thursday. The survey covers Oct. 30 through Nov.

26. The numbers given for each station are household ratingshare. The rating is the percentage of all TV households in Hawaii tuned in to a particular show. The share is the percentage of people watching TV at that time who are tuned in to a particular show. Most numbers shown are program averages.

STATION NOV. 2014 NOV 2013 RATINGSHARE RATINGSHARE 6 TO 7 AM KGMB (a) 629 631 KHON (b) 418 419 KITV 315 29 KHNL (a) 210 14 KFVE (c) 29 (unavailable) 5 PM KGMB (a) 821 822 KITV 618 616 KHON 617 617 KHNL (a) 6 14 5:30 PM KGMB 719 822 KHON 616 615 KITV 616 615 KHNL 37 25 (KHNL airs a local "Hawaii News Now" newscast, KGMB airs "CBS Evening News" and KITV airs "ABC World News" in this time slot. KHON airs world news locally anchored by Joe Moore.) Continued from B7 sumers aren't aware that third-party companies can do that, the regulators say. Officials told reporters on a conference call that the $90 million was a floor, not a maximum, for the amount that T-Mobile could end up paying. "It could be well north of $100 million," said Bill Sor-rell, the attorney general of Vermont.

A T-Mobile spokeswoman said the company had no immediate comment on the settlement. T-Mobile began a refund program in July and has said it has notified current and former customers. The com are hesitant to spend a lot, despite some recent good economic news. Average gas prices nationally have dropped, and the unemployment rate is at a six-year low. But some shoppers still struggle with higher costs and stagnant wages.

"I have to still watch what I spend and make sure everything's on sale," said Teresa Conrad, 51, who was shopping recently at a suburban Indianapolis mall. NOV. 2013 1226 716 511 36 24 410 NOV. 2013 720 823 411 38 510 NA 310 some industry watchers are saying could be the biggest shopping day of the year. In fact, the average holiday shopper had completed only 52.9 percent of their holiday shopping as of Dec.

10, according to a survey of more than 6,165 shoppers conducted by the retail trade group. But retailers also have to watch their bottom lines. Shoppers have become more accustomed to deals, and many aren't willing to tween what T-Mobile pays and $90 million will go to the FTC for additional relief to consumers, consumer education or other uses. T-Mobile also must contact all of its affected customers, both current and former, to tell them about the refund program and how they can make a claim. That must be done in a "clear and conspicuous way," the FTC said.

Going forward, T-Mobile must get customers' explicit consent before putting third-party charges on their bills. The company must clearly indicate any third-party charges on the bills. The settlement with T-Mobile came two days after another federal regulator, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, sued rival Sprint Corp. for alleged cellphone "cramming." The CFPB is seeking an unspeci- jobs, likely reflecting some hiring for the holiday shopping season. It also saw big gains in hotels and restaurants and professional and business services, which includes higher-paying jobs such as accountants and architects.

The largest job losses were in West Virginia, which had 5,200 fewer jobs than the previous month. It was followed by Mississippi, which had 4,500 fewer, and Kansas, with 4,100 fewer. West Virginia lost jobs in construction, professional and business services, and hotels and restaurants. Overall, unemployment rates are getting closer to healthy levels in most parts of the country. The rate fell the restaurant with dishes such as Big Boy Double Decker Burgers and thick milkshakes, after which "local favorites such as oxtail soup and the Sumo Boy Burger were added to its menu," she reported.

The restaurant first opened in 1975 as part of a chain established by Bob Wian in Glendale, Calif. A hui called Bob's Big Boy of HIRING: 2.7 million jobs added is the most since 1999 fied money penalty against Sprint. The T-Mobile agreement is the second-largest settlement for the government over mobile cramming. In October, Mobility agreed to a $105 million settlement with the FTC. Officials said that with the two settlements, about half of all U.S.

cellphone users now will be protected from abusive third-party charges. "Mobile cramming is an issue that has affected millions of American consumers, and I'm pleased that this settlement will put money back in the hands of affected T-Mobile customers," FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez said in a statement Friday. "Consumers should be able to trust that their mobile phone bills reflect the charges they authorized and nothing more." below 6 percent in seven states last month, bringing the total number of states with rates below 6 percent to 29. Still, much of the decline has occurred because many of the unemployed have stopped looking for work, rather than because they have found jobs. The government doesn't count people as unemployed unless they are actively searching for work.

And there are still 9.1 million Americans officially counted as unemployed, up from 7.6 million before the recession. The Associated Press and Kathryn Mykleseth contributed to this story. Hawaii bought the restaurant in 1991, Hu said at the time. The Big Boy disappeared and made way for the Big Bear at the Waipahu location. Because the Bob's Big Bear employees are out of work, it is hoped that a new location can be secured and opened within the first quarter of 2015, Hu said.

pany didn't provide an estimate of how much it has paid in refunds to date. T-Mobile US based in Bellevue, is controlled by Germany's Deutsche Telekom AG. It's the No. 4 U.S. cellphone carrier after Verizon Wireless, Mobility and Sprint.

The settlement must be approved by a federal court in Seattle, where the FTC filed its lawsuit. Under the settlement, T-Mobile must provide full refunds to all its customers affected by the "cramming," and the amount it pays in refunds and fines must reach at least $90 million. If the payout doesn't reach that amount, the difference be- Thirty-seven states reported higher job totals, including Hawaii, while 12 lost jobs. Hawaii reported 5,400 additional jobs in November from October. Idaho's payrolls were unchanged.

The biggest job gains occurred in California, which added 90,100 jobs in November, followed by Florida, which gained 41,900. Texas added the third-most jobs, with 34,800. California posted a large increase in a category that includes retail and shipping and "Big Boy" icon, which greeted customers at the door, she wrote. She quoted Hu as saying, "The Big Boy has a little dust on it, but it's alive and well." Regulars were lured to STATION NOV. 2014 6 PM KHON 1328 KGMB 818 KITV(d) 512 KHNL 37 KFVE 13 KITV 511 (KHNL airs "NBC Nightly News" in this slot.) STATION NOV.

2014 10 PM KGMB (a) 824 KHON 720 KITV(d) 411 KHNL (a) 310 KFVE 410 KHON 37 KITV 312 Continued from B7 since 1999. That has lowered unemployment rates in most of the country. Nationwide the unemployment rate was 5.8 percent in November, down from 7 percent a year ago. Employers added 321,000 jobs last month, the most in three years. North Dakota's 2.7 percent unemployment rate was lowest in the nation, while Mississippi's 7.3 percent rate was the highest.

BOB'S: Parent company's bankruptcy case terminated Airs at 6:30 p.m. Airs at 9 p.m. KHON debuted its 9 p.m. weekday newscast Sept. 8, 2014.

(a) Hawaii News Now is simulcast on KGMB and KHNL from 5 to 7 a.m., 5 to 5:30 p.m. and 10 to 10:30 p.m. (b) The rating and share for KHON reflects the "time period" versus program average, for the 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. hour, not program average.

c) KFVE airs Hawaii News Now "Sunrise" at 8 a.m. weekdays. (d) KITV airs an hourlong newscast at 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. weekdays.

KITV's second half-hour of news. Source: Nielsen Media Continued from B7 nabe reported on some reasons behind the reminiscence. Bob's Big Boy offered a slice of Americana with its 1950s malt shop favorites.