Christmas is five weeks away. Based on the aggressiveness of retail promotions, it would seem the holiday is only days off.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) and other retailers with strong balance sheets, can afford, at least, to offer remarkably low prices. While this may hurt margins, it keeps their market shares high. Ultimately, this may be a losing game. However, Walmart cannot afford to let its same-store sales slip from flat, at present, to negative. And the competitive threat of both Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) and arch rival Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) is a powerful motivation to use every retail trick available to Walmart for the holiday season.

Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M), the well-known retailer for the middle class, faces the same challenges as Walmart. It recently revised its current quarter targets down and cannot afford to lose much business to Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) or Dillard’s Inc. (NYSE: DDS). This need to keep market share high during the holiday season requires delicate balance with pricing, since almost all retailers make much of their money in the fourth quarter. It is unfortunate that the retailers have to cut the costs of goods they sell when they are in the season in which they have their only chance to make profits.

Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD), which owns failing Sears and Kmart, is joined by J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) on the list of potential retail failures. These companies have almost gone out of business in the past three years.

Hedge fund manager Eddie Lampert, who became CEO of Sears after he had fired several chief executives, has reportedly begun to sell store locations just for their real estate value. Even this desperate measure is unlikely to offset the hundreds of millions of dollars Sears loses each year in its core business.

The overarching problems each of these retailers face now and have for years is Amazon. CEO and founder Jeff Bezos has made it his business to lose money. His argument is that it will allow him to be virtually the last man standing. He is certainly moving in that direction.

Only 38 shopping days left to win the race that enters its final leg, one which is much more important than the balance of the year.

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