friday before christmas best buy went to line 8 checkouts open and i was the only customer trying to check out-- chicago
Wife: A lot of people went to the mall despite the bad weather, and they say it was great because it was empty... Echoes of Yogi Berra! "Nobody goes there anymore 'cause it's too crowded."
Went to Victoria's Secret; nothing but manikins. Evidently, men are set to solve global warming and the financial catastrophe without suitable help.
Foot traffic is meaningless. There are tons of people clamoring for 'door busters' and loss leader items such as plasma/lcd TVs and other low margin items. The sharpest retail analyst in the world has predicted a 20% to 25% bankruptcy rate for American-based retailers after the final holiday sales numbers are tallied, and I, for one, have no reason or motive to disagree with him. If you really want good deals, have a late holiday celebration.
I'm in the DC area, shopping for clothes most of the time, almost every mall I go to is packed... however yesterday at the gym I spoke to a Nordstrom manager, he said it's the worst holiday season he's ever seen...lots of traffic, very few buyers, or people spending much less than what they used to, despite discounts.
True......but better that you send it here than to OPEC. Actually nat gas has been the big thing in our area, but it seems the bubble has acquired a leak. Stosh
Somerset Mall in Troy, MI was packed when I as there. Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi, MI was empty. I was being offered $1300 diamond earrings for $450. Definitly some deals out there. Best Buy in East Lansing, MI empty. Meridian Mall in Okemos, MI dead. Eastwood Town Center in East Lansing, MI dead. This was before the foot of snow we got. Maybe it's just because school's out in this college town.
Interesting. seems to be quite the opposite here in Michigan. Supervisor at Best Buy says traffic this season is terrible. But those that have the money to spend, are spending lots. Local Best Buy had 10,000+ people walk in the door black friday in 2007. This year was about 8700, however they put up over $200,000 more than last year. Nonetheless, month to date, the store is down nearly a mil from their budget.