Brick-and-mortar retailers have been hit hard this holiday season by both online retailers and a poor credit environment that has tightened consumer spending. Many are now hoping that consumers will head back to the stores after Christmas in order to utilize gift cards and make additional purchases at new lower prices. Online retailers like Amazon.com are also making a quick move to try and bolster sales one last time before consumers fall into more normal spending trends.

From the Associated Press:
The nation's retailers slashed prices further Wednesday in hopes that a post-Christmas shopping rush will salvage holiday sales that, so far, have fallen below even modest expectations. They're waiting in particular for legions of shoppers armed with gift cards to snap up bargains and buy new merchandise that has just hit store shelves. Merchants in past years have received a late bounce during big clearance markdowns, and they find themselves again in the position of hoping that bargain-hunting consumers will come through in the end. Gift card sales are not recorded until shoppers redeem them.