Christmas Business: How Was It?

[liberalmike27]

Maybe I just haven't seen it yet. But I have yet to hear how sales were way better than last year, how great retail has done through Christmas, what a door-buster year it has been.

I don't know if it was. I do know as I pointed out earlier I have never seen so few Christmas lights. I know I have had reports from friends that the malls were empty. I know Wal*Mart had people clamoring near Christmas, with looks on their faces like "can I afford this," buying toys, and things for their families. Usually buying from the cheapest place is a negative indicator. Add to this, both on line and in stores, buying was very last-minute. This usually is an indication of desperation, and people low on funds.

The other night after the 25th, I passed a Christmas tree lot. They had probably a hundred trees left, not bought, not sitting in near any Christmas reveler's hearth, or next to their finest display window.

I regularly ridicule Bill O'Reilly, and the rest of FOX's "War on Christmas" rhetoric, where they lament the using of "happy holidays" over "Merry Christmas." It's stupid, and liberals aren't doing any of the things they say.

I can't help but think, in all of this that "War on Christmas," is coming in economic form, where people are just so damned poor, they can't afford trees, or to hang the lights, or to spend on the gifts lined up like little toy soldiers on retail shelves. Figures show that pursuing Republican, "neo" policies, nearly eighty percent of Americans who are working in are in near poverty.

Clearly income, and the distribution of wealth and income matters. If only the richest would begin the realize that, and support measures to repair these lagging statistics, on the other end of real American lives. We reached a point long ago, in America and the world, that hurting the poor, actually turns around and kicks the rich in the butt as well.

[femmocrat]

1. I think sales were down... don't remember where I read it though.

This is anecdotal, but our mall was packed on the 26th. Lots of people buying decorations, etc. I went back a couple of days later and the mall was still fairly busy. But... I found this interesting... Hickory Farms still had tons of products left at 50% off. They used to have long lines and sell out on the 26th. Not this year!

[liberalmike27]

4. Yea

There are a lot of little indicators--you noticed another one.

I also heard on Ed Schultz one day how the top ten favorite gifts were under $50, indicating people didn't have much to spend. Of course that might always be true, I don't know (Under 50).

[dem in texas]

2. web site sales

My web site sales were way down, I usually blow the doors out in Dec, not this year. My New Year's resolution is to give my web site a make-over.

As far as shopping, it seemed to be pretty strong at the stores and malls I went to before Christmas. I always like to shop on New Years day. The old boy is watching football on TV, so I feed him some black-eyed peas and head for my favorite shopping places, the thrifts stores. Most have 50% off on New Year's day.

Happy New Year Everyone!

[liberalmike27]

6. I Hope Things Improve

But I feel not much has been done to actually make things better. There are no more jobs' programs. There are no raises in the minimum. There are no new tariffs on products coming in, as to get manufacturing to move back, and put American workers first. Most States didn't sign up for Medicaid here in the South, so in Alabama alone about 300,000 are without health care, and we didn't receive 30,000 new upper-income jobs in hospitals, as well as making them secure.

I see nothing but a split government, where one side is completely refusing to compromise, or do anything huge majorities of Americans want to do to fix these problems.

[elleng]

3. Have heard complaints that Christmas sales 'down' for several years.

Didn't shop, so have nothing to compare with personally.

[liberalmike27]

5. Me Either

I don't participate much in the retail orgy.

[Shandris]

7. A report I read in my local paper...

...said business in box stores was down 26% from last year. So the only thing that remains is to find out how much online sales increased from last year to get a good overall picture.

But I'll say this much -- with 75% off sales the day after Christmas in my entire mall, I'd wager that even online sales didn't do anywhere -near- what they had expected. But again...no data onhand to say with certainty.