Over the past few months, many retailers, including Kohl’s, have been struggling to grow foot traffic in stores. This is something that many of the retailers are struggling with currently, especially when looking at the economy of the country. Many of the retailers are finding ways to attract consumers to stores to increase revenue. Now, the retailer is focusing on getting the sales back on track.
Details behind this move
One of America’s retailers, Kohl’s, is currently battling a concerning decrease in sales. The reason for this slump is due to a drastic change in customer behavior in stores. Kohl’s second-quarter earnings report for 2025 flagged that its comparable sales decreased by 4.2% year-over-year.
As indicated in recent data that was obtained from Placer.ai, it has been found that consumer visits at Kohl’s same-store locations dropped by 3.4% during the quarter. Kohl’s Interim Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Michael Bender made a statement during the earnings call on August 27, 2025.
He stated that the Kohl’s women’s category is having difficulties with sales. He further added that the men’s and kids’ categories encounter the steepest sales decline, while footwear and small electronics underperformed during the quarter.
Tweaking the annual sales event
During the low sales the retailer has been experiencing, Kohl’s made another bold move to win back consumers as the holiday season is starting. This specific department store chain has unveiled its fall savings event. This is an event that has been extended from three days to four this year.
The event, which is also known to offer cyber deals to consumers, will operate between October 6 and October 9, 2025. A recent press release stated that Kohl’s promises that the event will “deliver deep discounts on thousands of must-have products across home, apparel, footwear, beauty, accessories, and more, both in-store and online at Kohls.com.”
In addition, the retailer is offering consumers several deal to try to attract foot traffic when it comes to this four-day event. Some of these amazing deals include providing them with 25% off qualifying purchases, free shipping on all order that are made online and $10 in Kohl’s Cash for every $50 spent on qualifying merchandise.
Some of the other fantastic deals that Kohl’s has rolled out for this year’s event include 75% off Sephora Collection Beauty products, 30% off toys, and up to 40% off coats and jackets. This is the retailer’s way of getting people to participate in helping to increase the sales.
The desperate move Kohl’s is making
The retailer’s big move to attract the early holiday consumers is coming at a time when consumer sentiment continues to decrease as the holiday shopping season kicks off. According to recent data that were obtained from the University of Michigan, the United States consumer sentiment decreased in September to its lowest point since May.
This is amid increasing concerns many have regarding the tariffs causing higher prices for everyday goods. The University of Michigan’s preliminary September sentiment index found that consumer sentiment decreased from 58.2 in August to 55.4 in September. This indicates a decline of 4.8%, making it difficult for the company to be productive. This could also be reason why several Kohl’s stores closed down during this year.
According to Joanne Hsu, the Consumers Director of the University of Michigan Surveys, “consumers continue to note multiple vulnerabilities in the economy, with rising risks to business conditions, labor markets, and inflation.” She also added that consumers perceive even more risks when it comes to their pocketbooks.
It has also been confirmed that the holiday retail sales are expected to slowdown in growth this year. As indicated by a recent report from Bain & Company, this company predicts an increase in sales. It stated that retail sales for November and December will increase by 4% year-over-year, reaching $975 billion. However, this increase still falls below the 10-year average of 5.2%, indicating a more cautious consumer this holiday season.