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US retailers try to sell leftover holiday inventory

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Shoppers should expect to see more leftover inventory on store shelves as U.S. retailers work to try and sell a surplus of goods that saw lackluster sales last year.

Reuters reported that retailers were sitting on $548.8 billion in inventory in July, an increase of 21.6% from last year.

Chris Butler, a National Tree Company Executive Officer, said, This year is going to be a fantastic year to buy a tree."

Butler said, "Everybody's going to be trying to get through the inventory that they have to make sure they clean out a little bit before the 2023 season."

Kohl's was reportedly selling last year's pajamas at 25% off as more and more products being sold by major retailers are expected to be for sale at deep discounts.

This will come as a relief to many holiday shoppers as inflation hit 8.2% in September.

Richard Galanti, a Chief Financial Officer with Costco, said on an earnings call about goods for sale, "If you add in the cost of holding them and a little cost of interest, I think they're still a little cheaper than the ones we added to the inventory this year."