E-tailers push e-mail discounts to lure shoppers

NEW YORK -- Online retailers — grappling with a sharp drop in consumer spending from even their most gung-ho Web enthusiasts — are becoming pushier with e-mails that pitch the latest deals.

With pleas like, "Last chance to save 20%," or "Hurry, final sale ends," retailers from pure online players to land-based stores with a Web presence are hoping to get consumers to open their wallets — quickly and in a cost-effective way.

AnnTaylor Stores Corp.'s recent e-mails promote knit tops as low as $9.99, while Saks Fifth Avenue's e-mail messages tout up to 60% off on new women's fashions. But such attempts to pump up sales threaten to drive away shoppers, who may already be starting to get bleary-eyed over the bombardment.

And if consumers are fed up with the e-mail blasts now, just wait until the holiday season gets underway in earnest — with merchants expecting to increase the pace as they do whatever they can to make their sales goals.

"I find them annoying," said Cory Porter, a Web shopping fan from Washington D.C. who says he now receives about seven per day, twice as many as about two months ago. He had signed up with about nine retailers including Barneys New York, Banana Republic and Safeway to receive e-mail promotions, but thought they would be customized to his needs.

"I am a 32-year-old guy who lives in an urban area with no kids," Porter said. "In other words, I don't need blouses, high heels, or kid's juice boxes." As a result, he's opted out with some stores, directing the rest to his spam account.

The frenetic pace of offers comes as Web shopping — which had held up better in the slowing economy than store-based retailing — has been starting to slow dramatically since the financial meltdown intensified in September.

Sucharita Mulpuru, an analyst at Internet research company Forrester Research, expects online retailers to fare better than regular stores this holiday season because of the convenience, the breadth of selection and the perceived value. But "there is definitely a significant slowing down" in online shopping, she said, noting that the stock market tumble, weaker job market and tighter credit have spooked even the most enthusiastic Web shoppers.