Inventories at Macy's were up just 4% in the third quarter from a year ago, thanks to heavy discounts to clear excess stocks of casual and athleisure apparel. Kohl's inventories ballooned 34%. Macy's warned of more promotions heading into the holidays and reversed its earlier position that Christmas shopping would start early, saying consumers were holding out in the hope of getting discounts. "(Consumers) are under a tighter budget, feeling the impact of inflation on non-discretionary items and beginning to deplete their savings. With that in mind, we believe they are waiting until closer to holiday to make purchases," Macy's Chief Executive Jeffrey Gennette said. Kohl's executives also made similar comments on an analyst call. Macy's raised its fiscal 2022 adjusted per-share profit forecast to $4.07 to $4.27 from $4 to $4.20. (Reporting by Deborah Sophia and Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)