I went to WalMart this morning to do a little shopping and as an experiment to see what the Christmas Eve business was like. The WalMart I went to was not busy at all - more like a typical Tuesday afternoon in June. My guess is that the Christmas sales numbers are going to be extremely poor this year for the retailers - and worse than predicted.
Article on sales slump from NYT 12/4/08:
The nation’s retailers turned in the worst sales figures in at least a generation on Thursday, starting the holiday shopping season with double-digit declines across a broad spectrum of stores.
For many chains, the precipitous sales drops that took hold in September and October got worse, not better, in November, despite relatively strong sales in the few days after Thanksgiving.
The International Council of Shopping Centers, an industry group, described November’s figures as the weakest in more than 35 years. Declines were recorded in every retail segment the group tracks, with the biggest coming from department stores, with sales down 13.3 percent compared with November a year ago, and specialty apparel retailers, down 10.4 percent.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/05/business/economy/05shop.html
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