Dec. 16--Macy's Inc. plans to keep open its Woodfield Mall store 24-hours-a day from Saturday morning through Christmas Eve for the first time in a bid to boost holiday sales in one of the grimmest shopping environments in decades.

The Schaumburg store will open at 6 a.m. Saturday for a 108-hour shopping marathon that will end at 6 p.m. Dec. 24.

The New York retailer began testing around-the-clock holiday shopping in 2006 when it kept a Macy's at Queens Center in New York open for 24 hours. Last year Macy's rolled out the concept to a handful of locations. This year a total of 13 Macy's stores will be pulling all-nighters, including stores in Connecticut, Michigan, New Jersey, New York and Virginia.

Holiday shoppers have been dragging their feet more than usual this year. Only 15 percent of shoppers have completed their holiday shopping as of Dec. 14, according to a weekly survey from the International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs. At a comparable point last year that share was 18 percent.

At the same time, the number of shoppers who have finished at least half of their shopping as of Sunday was 44 percent, down from 50 percent in 2007.

Economists are forecasting that this holiday shopping season could be the worst in decades as consumers cut back on spending as they worry about their jobs and their retirement savings. Retailers are responding by slashing prices and keeping stores open longer.

smjones@tribune.com

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