Stores offer incentives to make shopping cheap and easy for finicky holiday shoppers

By Mae Anderson | The Associated Press
November 21 2012 07:26 AM

CP20885949 — FILE - In this Thursday, Nov. 25, 2010, file photo, people line up outside Toys R Us as Black Friday sales begin o, in Royal Palm Beach, Fla. If the economic downturn has taught retailers anything, it’s that a 50 percent off sale isn’t enough to lure finicky American shoppers into stores these days, so this holiday season, shoppers will find that retailers are doing all kinds of things to make it easier for them to part with their money. (AP Photo/The Palm Beach Post, Rachel Mummey) MAGS OUT; TV OUT; NO SALES

NEW YORK, N.Y. – This holiday season, Burger King won’t be the only place where you can have it your way.

It used to be enough for stores to promise discounts of up to 70 per cent off to lure shoppers during the holiday shopping season. But the ease of ordering online and the sluggish economy has created more demanding U.S. consumers who aren’t impressed by discounts alone. They want their shopping just like their fast food: cheap and convenient.

Retailers from Wal-Mart to Macy’s are trying to make it easier for this crop of finicky shoppers to spend. Several are opening on Thanksgiving Day. Some are offering free layaways and shipping. Many are matching in-store prices with cheaper online deals. And others are allowing shoppers to buy online and pick up merchandise in stores.

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