For a bad recession malls and stores are jammed packed with customers. Traffic on the streets still insane. People say one thing on the news polls but on the streets of america they are saying something totally different.
I looked around didn't find what i was looking for nor did I care to spend more time on this at the moment BUT I was checking the annual sales of crab grass killer (among other things, rose & floral spray etc). I think when people run out of money to spend on this crap then we can start looking for a bottom. There are many products out there that are hardly needed to sustain a lifestyle but the retail dollars still find their way to <imo> frivolous "stuff".
lol, this epitomizes the stupidity of this place. You went to ONE mall, in ONE geographic locale and suddenly this applies to "all of the country". I bet you use this line of logic to make your trades as well. "Shit three guys on ET were bearish, I better go long".
Lets see reports from LA,NYC,MIA many locations report same. Lots of kids with 80 dollar a month phones with internets walking around the cities of US. ipads selling off the hook. Apple sales off the hook. FOX says breadlines, Streets say lines at Apple stores and other shops in america. Get out, look around for once. Even Oklahoma, who the fuck lives there? http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/article.aspx?subjectid=52&articleid=20110814_52_E1_CUTLIN975664 Matt Porter, a digital technology specialist at Best Buy Tulsa Hills, said crowds have been keeping pace with years past. "This last weekend was very hectic," he said. "They're definitely here." And, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers, they'll be spending more. In their 2011 report on back-to-school shopping, the retail association predicted the average student will spend $189.51 on tech for this school year, up from $181.61 the year previous.
It's called 'frugality fatigue'. People are so tired of not spending they cannot take it anymore and have to go out and spend. But many will be forced to go back to their new ways (frugality).
Mobiles phones and internet are essentials purchase for kids (and most other people) these days, like food. People will even cut down on food spending as long as they get phone and internet.