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Scrambling to shop: Last-minute deals

PITTSBURGH — With less than a week to go before Christmas, a lot of us haven't finished our shopping list.  Target 11's Robin Taylor has been scouring the mall for deals and she's found plenty of them.

With time running out, retailers are slashing prices.  They want to move merchandise before the holiday.  I'm seeing markdowns of 30, 40, even 50 percent off, especially on winter clothing.  So, if you've procrastinated, you may be in luck.

According to a new retail survey, about 10 percent of us are done with our holiday shopping, while another 14 percent of us haven’t even started.

Although the holiday shopping season began early, the survey found most of us still have gifts to buy, and some of us have waited on purpose for prices to fall.

"I used to shop three months ahead of time before, and it's just better deals when you wait for the last minute," said Desiree Wilson, a last minute shopper.

At the Mall at Robinson, I found 30 percent off your entire purchase at Banana Republic, 40 percent off everything at Eddie Bauer and up to 50 percent off at The Gap.

"Everybody just seems to have anywhere from 30 to 50 percent off today," said Mike Spagnolo, another last-minute shopper.

Retail experts say you'll find the best deals on food and wine right before Christmas, along with specials on stocking stuffers.  The markdowns on clothing begin this week.

"You will find a lot of sales on winter apparel, hats, scarves, coats gloves.  Things like that you will find deep discounts on those items," said Trae Bodge, a shopping expert with the coupon website Retail Me Not.

In the past few years, stores have gotten better at determining how much inventory to buy, so as prices are slashed merchandise will sell quickly.

"As we get closer, I think those discounts are going to get a little bit better, but you have to be cognizant because the inventory levels are definitely lower than they have been in years past," said Shema Krinsky, the marketing director of The Mall at Robinson.

The best deals on toys were on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.  With inventory as tight as it is now, retail experts says some of the hottest toys are selling out.  We’re also not seeing major markdowns right before Christmas that we've seen in past years.