Retail Sales Fall as Analysts See a Soft Post-Holiday Rush

[Mari333]

Analysts who visit the malls each year said stores were relatively quiet Friday morning compared with previous years. In general, customer traffic has been slower throughout the holiday season, and with retailers offering unprecedented bargains in the weeks before Christmas, post-holiday sales lost some allure.










http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/27/business/economy/27shop.html?hp

xmas is over. now we have heating bills to pay, winter taxes, and basic everyday expenses. I , for one, will hunker down even further. the last thing I am thinking about is spending money on things i do not need.

[Gormy Cuss]

1. Um, a "soft...rush" is oxymoronic.

I guess that's more palatable easier than saying there isn't a post-holiday shopping rush.

[Warpy]

2. Nobody got presents they could exchange

and people who were reluctant to spend money to surprise their nearest and dearest on Xmas morning are certainly in no mood to spend it now.

You can starve the demand side only so long before you kill the economy. Every imperial monster out there has had to face that sooner or later. At that point your options are limited: either reform your way into a solid economy or employ a huge military to keep the majority oppressed.

We see what the right is doing and reform is not part of their lexicon. What remains to be seen is whether or not Obama follows along.

[Mari333]

3. amen to starve the demand side

that shit started back during the reagan era..when he gave those huge tax breaks to corporations, promising us all that the money would go to rebuild america..it went to taking jobs overseas to workers who would be paid 20 cents an hour ..and i remember telling my husband then..what happens when all the jobs are gone and no one can afford to buy all the shit thats made overseas?
and here we are.
frigging corporations shot themselves in the foot, didnt they.

[mike_c]

4. the thing is, this was pretty much a normal xmas for me....

I stopped doing the holiday frenzy years ago, when my daughter grew out of the little kid stage. For many years I spent xmas in Mexico or Central America whenever I could, just to get away from the consumerism and hype surrounding it in the U.S. Between thanksgiving and xmas I avoid the side of town where the shopping mall is. The holiday has no religious significance for me, and as a mega-Hallmark holiday spending spree it kind of disgusts me. I don't get mid-winter agricultural boredom. I'm just not very interested in xmas.

So I'm likely NOT much of a contributor to the downturn in holiday sales, since it's been decades since I was a participant.

[Warpy]

5. Same here

My friends got rugs, wall hangings, sweaters, and stuff from craft shows. I'm more enthusiastic about supporting fellow artisans than sweat shop workers in the Marianas.

I turn into a hermit for the month of December, venturing out twice a week for perishable foods. The craft shows around here are all in November.

Back in Boston, however, I found it was safe to venture into retail areas during December early Tuesday morning. That's when the crowds are lightest, for those of you who still do the shopping thing.