Stores desperately seeking shoppers on Super Saturday

Macy's Inc is keeping seven high-traffic stores in the New York area open around the clock starting December 21 until 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve. One busy Macy's store in Queens began operating around-the-clock on December 20.

Kmart, owned by Sears Holdings Corp, will hold a 64-hour sale, starting at 6 a.m. on December 22 and ending at 10 p.m. on Christmas Eve.

J.C. Penney Co Inc is advertising in-store "doorbusters" for Friday night and Saturday morning.

Web sites are playing a big role in the push, offering free shipping and advertising special sales.

Handbag maker Coach Inc allows shoppers to purchase items on its Web site, then pick them up in its stores three hours later.

But many consumers, unsure of what to buy or running out of time, are expected to snap up gift cards this weekend.

That will make it hard to get a full reading on the strength of the holiday season until January, when shoppers return to stores to redeem the cards and retailers are able to record the revenue.

Cohen and other analysts say they will likely have to wait until the third week of January to get a better reading on holiday 2007.