Comments on: Christmas Spending Projection Drops to 8 Year Low

By: ButtoMcFarty

ButtoMcFarty — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 02:18:40 +0000

Apparently it’s not just the mortar and brick retailers suffereing….

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122764819199157439.html

Nobody was expecting online shopping to be immune from the economic downturn, but most forecasts had been calling for at least a smidgen of growth. Now, even that hope is damped.

For the first 23 days of November, online sales declined 4% to $8.2 billion from $8.5 billion the same time last year, according to market-research firm comScore Inc. The firm projects that retail spending online in the months of November and December will total $29.2 billion, flat from the same period last year — a dreary sign for online retailers, many of which had grown accustomed to double-digit gains.

The figures follow numbers from October, when online sales grew only 1% versus a year earlier.

“The decline that we’re seeing is unprecedented,” said Andrew Lipsman, a senior manager at comScore.

By: ben22

ben22 — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 02:50:26 +0000

I was also at the mall last wkd . in Wilmington DE, best buy was packed, took forever to find a parking spot, annoying. I asked the salesman if it was busy all day and he said that it was. Apple store was packed as usual. My own ground floor research was still that people didn’t have as much stuff as they were walking out though. Very detailed research. Gas is also below $2 here.

Hard to say how hard it is being felt here, on my way out of the busy mall parking lot someone was standing in the middle of intersection with a cardboard sign, unemployed.

By: goldeneye

goldeneye — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 01:31:24 +0000

I posted earlier about the extremely full malls in Canada. Found this clip off of tonights CTV news, and mall owners are saying traffic is up 5%. Take a look, recognize sometimes things aren’t as bad as we talk ourselves into believing they are. Sales will likely pull retail through in Canada, and from some of the postings above, there may be more buying out there than people realize.

http://watch.ctv.ca/news/latest/christmas-price-cuts/

By: JohnnyVee

JohnnyVee — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 00:56:18 +0000

Family is calling us to agree on gift limits: a few presents for the kids , one or none for adults, and none for those not attending. Can’t say that I disagree. I think that this year is going to be bad–a real record breaker. But this is good news, because the sooner the high price of X-mas bottoms out the better! Right?

By: Bruce in Tn

Bruce in Tn — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 00:38:14 +0000

Well, my wife and I watched Scrooge, (Peter Schiff), who has received his apology from Ben Stein (BS)..

Says our economic crisis has only just begun…

Will the seer be right again? Stay tuned..

http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/article/134633/‘Crisis-Only-Just-Beginning’-Right-About-the-Crash-Peter-Schiff-Sees-More-Pain-Ahead?tickers=%5Edji,%5Egspc,%5Eixic,SPY,DIA,QQQQ,GLD

By: Mr Beefy

Mr Beefy — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 22:05:47 +0000

At Happy Hour, I’ve been playing a few xmas songs like “If we make it through December” and “Daddy Won’t Be Home Again for Christmas” Helps w/ liquor sales! .

By: DP

DP — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 21:49:06 +0000

The graph would be real interesting overlayed with what people actually spent in those years.

By: MarkTx

MarkTx — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 21:11:49 +0000

I think the average # will be $900 for Christmas spending (which would be a 10 yr high).
The key words being AVERAGE and CHRISTMAS SPENDING.

For a lot of people, times are tough, but I do not think people on average quit/slow down spending on Christmas,
I think they spend more. (Old habits are hard to break come hell or high water).

I will be spending the same.

By: Mannwich

Mannwich — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:54:27 +0000

Check that – maybe not. Craziness all around. We’re in a trading environment where 8-10 minutes is an eternity.

By: Mannwich

Mannwich — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:53:40 +0000

Wow, much selling into the close. Nobody wants to hold anything “long term” anymore.