Jul. 3--Bobbi Long of Leechburg hunted for bargains Thursday with family and friends in the Monroeville Mall.

"We got a great deal. A $100 pair of shoes for $34 at Macy's," said Long, whose daughter, Courtney Woodhall, 16, walked away with the best bargain.

The deep discounting so early in the summer season is great news for bargain hunters like Long, but worrisome for retailers.

The volume and size of the discounts for mall-based apparel retailers is about 10 percent higher than a year ago, even though inventory is down 20 percent, said BMO Capital Markets analyst John Morris.

The Macy's store in Monroeville Mall had a lot of summer merchandise marked for sales this holiday weekend. And that trend will continue as the store prepares for its fall line of merchandise in August, said store manager Lori Wright.

The higher-end retail stores are running deep discounts to clean out the inventory before the back-to-school sales start, said Louis Mallet, a partner in the Strategic Resource Group, a marketing consulting firm in New York City.

Some independent retailers, like Kevin Miscik, owner of Lapels A Fine Mens Clothier, a specialty men's store in Greensburg, are offering 50 percent discounts to move summer stock.

"We're making the summer last longer, to give it more time to sell," said Miscik.

By holding off on replacing the summer clothing line, Miscik said he saves money that he would spend on fall clothing that sells more slowly on hot August days.

But stretching the season may not help all retail stores. The same-store sales in June have registered a 6 percent decline, worse than projected, and worse than the 4.6 percent decline in May, said Michael P. Niemira, chief economist at the International Council of Shopping Centers.

The retail industry probably will not see year-over-year gains in sales until the fourth quarter of this year, which includes the Christmas shopping season, according to the National Retail Federation's retail sales outlook for this summer.

"We forecast a 1,000-day retail recession two years ago, and we are about 550 days through it," Mallet said.

The improvement in consumers' confidence since February has not translated into much more activity at the cash register because confidence levels are still well below the 100 reading that's considered healthy. Consumers' confidence in the economy, which had surged in April and May, is projected to be virtually unchanged for June.

"The consumers are being very cautious in their purchases. They're trading down to cheaper labels," Mallet said.

Karlice Burkart of Greensburg was looking for holiday bargains yesterday as she walked into Westmoreland Mall.

"I look for bargains every day -- clothing, household goods, furniture. I think the bargains have been good, and the selection is really good. I think they are putting things up for sale because people aren't buying," Burkart said.

Rainy weather has dampened business and some analysts wonder whether shoppers are sensing that the economy won't be getting any better soon -- even as consumer spending makes up 70 percent of economic activity. That doesn't bode well for merchants, who need to get rid of summer inventory quickly to make room for fall goods that start to arrive next month.

Despite the uncertainty over the economy, Miscik said his customers are looking for value.

"People will come in and want to buy something good in a down economy. They're stretching their dollars ... and they want to get the best for it," he said.

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