Last year’s holiday-themed pajamas are available on Kohl’s shelves for 25% off at $39. And clothing retailer Express Inc. is putting its excess holiday items and New Year’s Eve dresses in its outlets, the company said during the Wells Fargo Consumer Conference in September.

In past years, retailers spent heavily to bring in hard-to-get toys, shiny gadgets and trendy clothing that their merchandise buyers felt would bring shoppers into stores.

But this year, some cut back on their purchases of new merchandise while others focused on clearing old inventory.

Retailers are betting that shoppers won’t mind picking through 2021’s discounted decor and styles. But Liza Amlani, principal at consultancy Retail Strategy Group, said there’s a chance that shoppers will lose interest when they feel that some of last year’s on-trend merchandise is “no longer relevant.”

Even with retailers slashing prices by up to 40%, shoppers so far this year are hesitant to make major holiday purchases.

Online prices for electronics, toys and apparel were down in September, according to the Adobe Digital Price Index, as retailers offered deals to entice early holiday shoppers and rid themselves of inventory before Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving when many Americans traditionally shop for gifts.

Increased markdowns and slowed consumer demand may hurt companies’ gross margins, said Cowen retail analyst John Kernan in an October note. Excess inventories also add to retailers’ storage costs.

Kohl’s and Express reported gross margins of 33.05% and 39.6% on their second-quarter earnings calls in July, while Costco’s fourth-quarter margins came in at 11.84% in August. Analysts are expecting gross margins to shrink for each of the companies next quarter, according to data from Refinitiv.