Deep discounts may have hurt holiday retail sales

From the Milwaukee Business Journal: Kohl’s remained open for 100 straight hours just prior to Christmas while other retailers offered deep discounts in an attempt to attract customers, but the jury is still out as to whether their efforts will result in positive retail numbers. In Wisconsin, Kohl’s and The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. (parent of Boston Store) are bracing for what could be bad news when all the numbers come in. While MasterCard’s SpendingPulse retail shopping survey reports total retail spending nationwide increased 3.5%, deep discounts and a short shopping season could erode gains that were made.