Store executives differed on whether a "friends and family" event should be considered a sale. "I don't see friends and family as a markdown," said a luxury retailer. "Saks' friends and family offer is for 20 percent off. A sale is 40 percent off. To me, 20 percent is an hors d'oeuvre. It's maybe an incentive. Everybody's giving some type of incentive. They're all doing something out the back door."

"Nobody is experiencing great business," said an owner of a fashion boutique. "What am I going to do if a huge retailer like Saks or Barneys [New York] does a major markdown again? It's not easy out there. We're not set up to do anything like promotions."

Stanley Korshak hopes to stick to its same schedule as last year by marking down resort and some spring the first week of May, and the remainder in June.

"If Neiman's and Saks pull the plug and we are forced into reacting, then we'll do what we have to do, but we do not have inventory issues," said owner Crawford Brock. "We are barely missing our plan, which is about 30 percent down from last year. But we made money in the first quarter and in February and March, and we did it by cutting expenses—not by selling more."

All things being relative, the best businesses have been contemporary, young designer, bridal, men's shoes and belts, and private label goods, Brock said. Gowns, handbags, shoes, and denim are weak. "Shoes and bags are tough, and I think it's a price point issue," said Rose Clark, general merchandise manager. "Louboutin is still our No. 1 vendor, but it's expensive, as are Jimmy Choo and Valentino."

"The knee-jerk constant promotions that everyone had to deal with last fall were very detrimental, so we made a strong effort not to do that again this year," said Mickey Rosmarin, owner of Tootsies, which has stores in Houston, Dallas, and Atlanta. "We will mark down resort and some spring the last weekend in April."

Rosmarin said Bogner and Ralph Lauren have done well but, in general, sales trends have been inscrutable.

"Gowns are not selling, but prom dresses and other dresses are doing great," he said. "Some Italian sportswear is blowing out and some is dead as a doornail. It's almost no rhyme or reason."

Due to students on Easter vacations, traffic in malls has recently risen, according to Amy Wilcox Noblin, research analyst at Pali Capital. "This week kicks off new early summer product arrivals in stores and this is a transition period for some retailers in terms of promotions. But overall, retailers have either increased or sustained the heightened level of promotions to capitalize on the traffic," Noblin wrote in a report issued Monday. "Some store associates have theorized that traffic will drop post-spring break and we can detect a sense of nervousness about what the back third of April will bring."

Noblin observed American Eagle Outfitters Inc. is already displaying some early summer goods at full price and, therefore, experienced some slower traffic with fewer promotions. However, the store is running an all-shorts-under-$25 promotion, which is 30 to 40 percent off on average, and the new summer goods reflect "progress" in fashion, Noblin stated.

Tourists and teens off from school flocked to the Abercrombie & Fitch flagship on Fifth Avenue, though A&F branch stores did not show such traffic surges, Noblin wrote. Some early summer product has arrived, "but the majority still lacks enough fashion innovation necessary to entice customers to pay full price."

Pacific Sunwear, on the other hand, saw an uptick in traffic last week that's been sustained this week. "Significant promotions remain this week," touching up to 75 to 80 percent of the assortment, Noblin noted.