Reuters’ Retail Reporter Nandita Bose delivered a rather gloomy outlook for retailers in the coming months who are attempting to offload inventory. Within the piece Bose expertly wove in the latest DynamicAction Spring 2016 Retail Index findings, which indicated there were fewer items sold this year and staggering increases in promotions on products ordered - especially in March.

Please see below for an excerpt:

Target Chief Executive Brian Cornell, speaking after the company released its earnings, cautioned investors about the impact of the stock build-up.

"Many of our competitors are sitting on meaningful excess inventory, which we expect will extend the very intense promotional environment into the months ahead," he said.

According to a report by analytics firm Dynamic Action, retailers sold 4 percent fewer items at full price in the first quarter than a year ago, while the percentage of promotional products ordered online jumped 63 percent.

Such orders reached a record high in March, when they soared 86 percent from a year ago, the report said.

The jostling to sell excess inventory over the next three months could hit sales growth, said Brian Yarbrough, an analyst with financial services firm Edward Jones.

"Right now retailers have started cutting back on deliveries for the third and fourth quarter," he said, referring to new inventory orders. That could leave them understocked for the end of the year, when most retailers make as much as 40 percent of their annual sales, he said. Some retailers might be able to avoid slashing prices.

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