Last-minute holiday shopping comes with an added bonus this year: retailers trying to revive suffering sales have kept on the discounts.

        Sales, price cuts, incentives. Lots of them. Fifty percent off here, 25 percent off there. Save $25 elsewhere, but only if you spend $50 first.

        “You always want to buy more when you see a sale,” Denise Ford said on Saturday, on her way into Banana Republic in Rookwood Commons. The Oakley resident had already stocked up on discounted presents for her nieces and nephews at Gap Kids.

        Retailers are counting on shoppers like Ms. Ford.

        Through October, national retail spending is up a lackluster 2.7 percent, not adjusted for inflation. That's the smallest gain for the 10-month period January-October since 1992. During the 1990s, retail sales for the 10-month period had increased an average of almost 6 percent a year over the same period in the previous year.

        Much of this year's small retail sales gain has come in home products, such as building materials, furnishings, appliances and electronics.

        Stores that sell other kinds of items were already struggling.

        “We are in recession, and have been in one since March,” said Jeffrey S. Stein, a retailing analyst at McDonald Investments in Cleveland. “It's considerably worse since Sept. 11 — that could not have been at a worse time for the retail industry.”

        Mr. Stein said that stores had already ordered their holiday inventory, hoping the shopping season would revive their year. But the attacks made that less likely.

        Hence the discounts, sales and incentives.

        “It's a nationwide trend,” he said. “The mission now is just to get through Christmas.”

        Some stores, however, are already looking beyond the holiday season, offering coupons redeem able later for money spent during the holiday season. A spokeswoman for Columbus-based Limited Inc. said such promotions had been planned for months among its array of stores.

        Mr. Stein said the strategy is nothing new.

        “Everyone is trying to develop (store) loyalty and increase visitation,” he said. “They're trying to make sure (shoppers) are not just kicking the tires; they're legitimate buyers.”

        Not all shoppers are taking the bait and spending more, however.

        Joanna Konerman of Hyde Park said the incentives have taken her into more stores to look — but not necessarily to buy. Sticking closely to her predetermined budget, the discounts meant she has been buying nicer presents for her friends and family, she said.

        Meg Gustafson, 13, was pleased she saved 50 percent off her gift for her dad.

        Her father, Craig Gustafson, was shopping with her Saturday. He said he's buying more items instead of spending more money.

        “I'm pleasantly surprised,” the Mount Lookout resident said. “The prices are lower than I expected.”

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