Christmas shopping experience, the stores seemed empty to me

[ken_g]

I'm a last minute holiday shopper for a large family - that's just my "job". Crowds, long lines, etc.. This year was very different and I'm wondering if anyone else had the same experience.

I have gone to the same stores for 10 years, 3 days, 2days, and 1 day before christmas. This year was weird. Best buy historically would have lines the length of the store and THEN around a corner. No parking available.

Tower store this year had parking right in front - ALL 3 days!
Barnes and Noble the same.

Some I talk to say "oh, it's the online retailers". No. I write online code for sites, there's no evidence that online shopping is growing at this pace.

Of course I don't expect MSM to even talk about this yet because they have advertisers that would discourage such talk while the shopping season is in progress.

Antone else notice anything. I mean, I would suggest that I saw on the order of an 80% decrease in crowds.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

1. Only the mega-rich have money to spare.

The rest of the nation is living tight since Bush.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

2. I went to WalMart at 11 AM

Christmas Eve and it was not chaos by any means. I was surprised.

Now, there is a possibility that in my community we are big-boxed out. There are so many of them maybe they never get crowded anymore!?

[rzemanfl]

6. I hope you were there to picket. n/t

[tx_dem41]

10. Yes....shame on you for not marching in lockstep like a....

zombie, TG. Just shame on you.

:eyes:

[rzemanfl]

26. I'm sure you were just buying eggs for that famous egg nog. n/t

[TallahasseeGrannie]

70. The eggnog was GOOOOD this year.

Now, unfortunately, I am sick. Two weeks ago I had to take my sister to the ER w/ pneumonia and here is am running a high fever, earache, sore throat. I'm not a happy grandma.

We have a 12 pound infant in the house and also a two year old. Both have had flu shots but I didn't get one because I'm not "high risk."

Bummer.

[rzemanfl]

83. Get well soon. n/t

[TallahasseeGrannie]

69. LOL

I would seriously make another choice but all there is is Publix, Winn Dixie and Target. Oh, and Fresh Market. WalMart saves me about 25 bucks a session and I don't waste money.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

68. No, I buy my groceries there.

All the grocers in town are giant chains. I go to the cheapest one.

[Kadie]

9. I think Walmart is trying to outdo Starbucks.

One on every corner. They are trying to squeeze so many in around here it is just crazy.

[...of J.Temperance]

19. I love Starbucks...I'd even go as far as wanting one in my back garden

Yes I would.

[tx_dem41]

20. Only if the barristas...

are cute. :)

But, you knew that already.

:hi:

[...of J.Temperance]

29. You and

The cute barristas :)

:hi:

[tx_dem41]

37. Self delete

Self delete

[...of J.Temperance]

39. Did you

Say something naughty? Did ya did ya?

:beer:

[tx_dem41]

40. I'm not telling.

:)

[...of J.Temperance]

41. It's okay because I already know

:)

[GrumpyGreg]

3. I'm an early shopper but just before Christmas I had to run to

a local Kohl's.

I was absolutely dreading it and,you are right,the store reminded me of a store in the middle of February.

There were NO lines---none !

[ken_g]

21. Exactly, that's what I saw. I'm waiting for the numbers. eom

[rzemanfl]

4. Have you considered the possibility that people are afraid to

put things off until the last minute anymore? Never know what might happen martial law, gas shortages, bird flu, terrorist attacks. Fear seems to be in control these days. Maybe people are shopping earlier. I did virtually all my shopping on the net, so I have no observations of what was happening in stores this year.

[Kadie]

5. I didn't have to stand in line once.

I did my shopping over the past couple of weeks and it was a breeze. I usually found just what I wanted, and it was more than likely marked down 30-40%. I never stood in line and was done in no time. I even needed to go out today to exchange and return a couple of things, and again no crowds, no lines.

[Quakerfriend]

7. I have had the very same experience.

Some lines at the check out. But VERY short wait (2-5 minutes).

And, I too was able to park in the front every time.

I don't think that your estimate of an 80% decrease is all that far off! Things were definitely the slowest ever in all the years I can remember. And, I too shop for a very large group of family.

It made for one of the most relaxing holidays ever.

[Sanity Claws]

8. I went into some local small retailers on Christmas Eve

Business was very light.
I went to a large dept. store today. Again light, even though the store had advertised in local papers.

[greymattermom]

11. shopping

There was no extra traffic and no crowds at all around here, and I live in an upscale red area. I did all my shopping on line as usual, but the old days of waiting to find a place to park seem to be over. I have Christmas fatique myself, and we cancelled the whole thing in our family. We just had a relaxing time with the kids and went to the gym and to a few movies, had party at our house. It's a great holiday without the pressure.

[Union Thug]

12. I heard that sales were lackluster..

The boutiques and high end stores did well, the big box stores underperformed. I don't have a source for this other than what I heard on Thom Hartmann today.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

13. I had exactly the same experiences.

Great parking spots, lots of merchandise available at very marked down prices, very few cash register lines, and reduced store crowds.

I also noticed that a lot of the shoppers I saw were empty handed as they walked through the malls or stores I visited.

I don't know if it was an 80% reduction, but maybe, here in CO, a 50-60% decrease. MKJ

[IndyOp]

14. As close as I got to Xmas shopping was a trip to Target for

new flannel sheets last Friday evening - people in the store, but not a crush, lines no problem. Barnes and Noble was very comfy that evening, too. If they hired extra workers for the Xmas rush, I think they had too many employees on hand.

:shrug:

[Pharlo]

15. Something else I noticed -

not only were the crowds small, the shelves were still well stocked.

I started shopping on Friday and finished on Saturday. No half empty shelves, no "We're out of stock in that size (color, etc)."

Normally by the 23rd, stores have a lot of empty - or half empty - shelves. Things are in disarray from being handled by customers and store employees being too busy to rearrange items. I did not notice that so much this year. And, to me, that's more telling than small crowds.

[bbinacan]

16. The only crowded store

I found in Raleigh, NC was Toys R Us. 30 mins. in line. The stores in the Mall next door were not nearly as crowded as they were in the past. Prices in the mall were great. Around 50% off.

[bammertheblue]

17. I work at Hallmark

the bastion of the last minute card/gift shopper. I did work Xmas eve until closing (6 pm) and, while the store was busy, it was nowhere near as nuts as I thought it would be.

[Strangefire]

52. Hallmark here too :)

Hi Bammertheblue! I also work at a Hallmark shop.

This was actually our busiest year of the past 5 years. During the final week we exceeded our sales goal by quite a bit, and made our large bonus, which we were not expecting to happen.

Unfortunately we were also severely understaffed. *grumble*

[bammertheblue]

54. Really!

What area do you work in?

[Aimah]

18. More people bought gift cards this year.

I saw less people in the malls and more people bought gift cards at the bank that I work at. I wouldn't be surprised if internet shopping was up also.

[ken_g]

25. I'm sure online shopping was up as it is every year... But I just

don't think in 1 year it could increase this much. I'm just spooked. It was eery.

[DJ MEW]

22. I was in a Wal-Mart on C eve

and the "crowd" was even low for a normal shopping day let alone Christmas Eve. For what I expected the place was empty.

FYI I bought nothing I was only there because a friend heard they had really cheap computer keyboards and mice. My Wally World boycott is still going strong.

Edit
I did have to stand in a short line at Guitar Center, they had a full parking lot and lines but that was the only place and the only time I saw it.

[One_of_8]

23. My experience was somewhat similar

I live in northern California, in a fairly affluent city. I also happen to live off one of the main drags in town, and every year for the past three that I have lived there, I know to expect bumper to bumper traffic on my way home. There's just no way to avoid it, as Christmas shoppers come out in droves after work. It normally starts at least two weeks before Christmas. I used to pack water and crackers for my son to snack on.

This year, I only had to deal with bad traffic one day. Once. It was on December 22nd, the Wed before Christmas. But I only ran into bumper to bumper traffic less than one mile from my home, not three miles out as has been in the past. There were definitely less people out there shopping.

I did most of my Christmas shopping on-line this year, plus I also shopped through out the year and knitted gifts. My family agreed that we wanted to keep Christmas simple, and avoid spending tons of money. The few times I ventured into Target was usually in the morning around 8:20 after dropping my son off at school. Nice and quite time to shop. The week before Christmas, I went in there twice during a lunch hour, and it was pretty busy.

[ken_g]

27. I'm in Sacramento (Fair Oaks), where abouts are you? eom

[Blue Diadem]

24. I noticed it too

I also noticed when I was out a few hours ago that stores had a considerable amount of wrapping paper left. Previous years when I looked for after-Christmas sale wrapping paper there was none to be found.

My son's fiance was out early on Christmas eve day to pick up some last minute things and was quite surpised to find front row parking at many of the stores.

[Kindigger]

28. CBS News said

sales were up about 3% from last year, not the predicted 6%, and sales of gift cards were up.

[ProfessorGAC]

74. Inflation Was 3%!

Of course sales were up 3%. The same number of goods would cost 3% more this year! CBS News isn't reporting the news, they're just regurgutating statistics.
The Professor

[Missy Vixen]

30. I own a store

that caters to those who'd like to make holiday gifts. My business this year was not overwhelming. As a matter of fact, most retailers survive all year on what they make during the holiday season; I can safely say it's not going to be happening with what I brought in. If business doesn't pick up over the next couple of months, it's going to be a very long summer and early fall for me (traditionally the quiet time of the industry I'm in.)

Shopping was noticeably down at stores all over our small town. If we are any indication, there will be retailers throwing in the towel in the next couple of months.

Julie

[tsuki]

31. We are down to one gift per. In a family of four, husband, son, mother

& I, that translates to about 16 gifts total. Friends received baskets of homemade liqueurs, candies, breads and winter vegetables.

From a family that has always spent large at Christmas, you do the math. Especially when about 1/3 of the gifts were bought from non-traditional sources.

[bettyellen]

32. aside from electronics, this is the worst season in years for retailers

the discounts were deeper and earlier than ever. many chains that have "friends and family" discounts that are usually limited to exclude popular lines had no exclusions, deeper discounts and a longer season than ever. there's been an increase in gift carding and onlines sales, but it's not the whole story. people are cutting back.

[ken_g]

33. Housing sales down 11% nationaly, 22% in the west.

Anybody think that may be a part of this? Or maybe another symptom of the consumer class just simply running out of steam? The last few months (quarter?) have shown significant negative savings rates.

[Hello_Kitty]

38. People are broke.

House poor and worried about job security. Not exactly in the mood to buy consumer items.

[stopbush]

34. I did 100% of my Xmas shopping online this year.

My wife did the retail store shopping at Target, ToysRUs, SteinMart and a few others.

Today, I did a few returns/exchanges at Target (I was there for all of 5 minutes) and a clothing store (8 minutes).

There were long lines at the registers with people buying things at 70% off, so I went home.

It's the first time I've set foot in a store on 12/26. I was surprised at how small the lines were to return items.

On edit: boy, people are stupid. I parked in the lot at Target - in one of the lanes a distance away from the entrance. I walked to the door in about 30 secs, got done in 5 minutes and was gone. As I exited, I saw the same cars circling the lot looking for a "close" parking space as were circling when I went in the store! There was a traffic jam of people looking/waiting for the "good" parking spots to open up.

Idiots.

[yorkiemommie1]

42. my husband is one of those

it's like a challenge to him to find a space up close. me, i'd rather park farther out for the exercise and just being away from the crush. actually, most of the time i walk to my shopping, it's all 5 minutes away, then if i have a load of stuff, i call him to come pick me up.

i did most of my shopping online - only encountered a long line at one store, ROSS, which is an offprice department store.

[Neil Lisst]

35. I went the day before Christmas AND today.

And it wasn't nearly as busy as I thought it would be. Today the shortest line was the returns line.

I've seen busier Saturdays this year than today's buyers after Christmas.

[Hello_Kitty]

36. Might be the upcoming min. payment increases on credit cards

One of the not-so-pleasant ramifications of the new bankruptcy law is that creditors are expected to double minimum payments around the beginning of 2006. A lot of people have heard about it and are scared to charge things.

I hope so because I'd like to see the usurious credit card companies start losing revenue due to their short-sighted greed and callousness.

[noamnety]

43. We scaled way back this year

We did more handmade gifts recrafted from thrift shop finds, photos, etc. It wasn't really an affordability issue. In some ways it was a rebellion against the ridiculous War on Christmas. After being bombarded with the message that Christ and commercialism are supposed to be intertwined, I just kind of lost interest in the whole shopping extravaganza. I was a little disgusted by it all.

That's probably not the affect they were shooting for, but it was the result they got, at least in my household.

[demgurl]

44. This is all shrub's fault.......

At least it is the fault of the republicans. First of all, I had the exact same experience. I went to Toys R Us TWICE on Christmas Eve and both times it was easy to find a parking space and I was second in line at checkout. I think it has been a bad season for retailers.

The reason it has been bad is the gas prices have gone up - thank you very much *. Gas prices go up and so does everything else and pretty soon we can't afford anything. I know people who have not bought red meat, in a couple of years, because they just can not afford it.

Another reason for the slow down, I suspect, is that wonderful :sarcasm: bankruptcy bill. People are trying to cut back since they know they can not afford the bills and they have to pay it all back if they go bankrupt. They got their wish and now they have to pay for it as do we.

demgurl

[davikim]

45. I didn't notice

any difference at all this year, in fact I walked out of a store cause the line was too long (and the shelves were in HORRIBLE disarray). Of course, if my step-family is any indication of the area's mindset, they are all in denial and think everything is fine, better than ever and Jesus will take care of them so just spend spend spend
Scary

[DawgHouse]

46. I only shop on weekends

because of my work schedule and I didn't notice the weekends were any worse than normal this year. I mean, yeah, it was crowded but it usually is on Friday or Saturday evening.

[SPKrazy]

47. Lots of shoppers here where I live

In Arkansas. Did last minute shopping on Friday and Saturday and it seemed like Friday was the worst day, and Saturday had slowed a little, but not much. Places were getting cleaned out.

I don't know what that says, but it wasn't slow here.

[blue neen]

48. In this part of the country we're scared as hell to get our homeheating

bills. Some people got their's last week, and they are exorbitant.

It was a choice between staying warm and buying gifts. Buying gifts lost. Oil companies are making record profits, but retailers won't be.

[Mend]

49. on Sat. the 24th, Macy's had a 50% sale and the store was about

empty. My husband got some needed slacks and we left. No lines at all. We bought each other nothing for Christmas, just got the grandkids some gift certificates. Under Clinton we shopped till we dropped for our eight kids, our grandkids, and ourselves. I am not happy with this country's repuke government and this is one way I can show it.

[pitohui]

50. beating them off w. brickbats in southeast louisiana

if the store was open and it had anything, it didn't have it long

but this may be more a function of reduced number of stores and shopping hours than anything else

still they say the sales tax revenue for st. tammany parish is breaking all records, don't know abt jefferson but wouldn't be surprised, orleans not too many stores open yet so not a fair comparison

[Jayhawk Lib]

51. Propaganda from Reuters

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyid=2005-12-27T022315Z_01_DIT708550_RTRUKOC_0_US-RETAIL-HOLIDAY-STUDY.xml&rpc=22



NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. consumers spent 8.7 percent more during the just ended holiday shopping period than in the comparable period a year ago, according to a report from an affiliate of MasterCard Inc., the Wall Street Journal reported in its online edition on Monday.

The study, by SpendingPulse, covered the period from the Friday after the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday through December 24, Christmas Eve. That period included 30 days in 2005, compared with 29 days in 2004.

The report found the biggest increases in spending on home furnishings, up 15.2 percent, followed by consumer electronics and appliances, up 10.5 percent. Spending on jewelry was down 4.6 percent.

The report covers spending in stores and on the Internet, and includes food sales. It excludes spending on autos and gasoline.

[ohio_liberal]

53. The mall was hopping here

I went shopping on the 23rd. There was a line of cars trying to get off the interstate at the mall exit and it was backed up about 1/2 mile. I did a loop around the whole mall 3 times before I found a parking space at Kmart. The inside of the mall was packed full of people. The one thing I did notice is that most of the stores had already marked way down from regular retail prices. I know there are usually sales but this seemed extreme. Most everything I bought was 50-60% off.

[Digit]

55. I only bought 3 cards...no gifts

[area51]

56. stores

I think it's more evidence that we've never left the Bush recession. And as another poster mentioned, there's no job security, bankruptcy laws have been changed to fsck people & help corps.; there's very little money to spend & no incentive to spend.

[RebelOne]

57. Nope, not in my neighborhood.

The parking lots were jammed in all the malls and strip shopping centers.

[JacquesMolay]

58. All the money goes to corporations now anyway ....

.... keep your money and spend it locally (later) on things you need.

[flyarm]

59. i went to huge new mall weekend before xmas..it was like a morgue!

the restaurants were crowded..but the stores and mall itself was empty..both saturday and sunday!

and xmas eve hubby and i went to dinner at mall and just walked around..there were lots of people..but no one was in the stores! we both commented on it..when you looked in the stores they were empty..
seems like there were many families in this highly resort area in fla..came in for holidays..and people were eating out at the restaurants..but no one was shopping...the only place we saw a line or people shopping was in the mac store they were buying Ipods...the rest of the glamour stores..were dead empty..

i went into a couple of the shops and asked the employees if people were buying ..and they told my hubby and i they were dead...no one was buying..only looking!...
one gal in christian dior store said she hadn't sold anything in 3 days!!..that was the three days before xmas!!
this mall has high end stores..but even it seems the so called wealthy weren't buying!!
a friend of mine who owns a specialty boutique said this was her worst year ever in 20 years!
she said the only buyers were buying the cheepest things..and very small items...
and this is in a high end resort area in fla...

i have never had such an easy time close to xmas parking at the malls...no full parking lots at all...
i do all my shopping very early ..so close to xmas..i can enjoy and just walk around..but this year it was obvious to me something was sorely amiss..i usually make jokes when i see people on line..and i laugh that i am done ...this year i saw only one line ..like i said at the mac store for ipods..thats it!!

fly

[NancyG]

60. Glass artist here...

I make my living selling my work around the country. Sales were very good this year, actually excellent. Perhaps people want gifts with more soul in them. Being nationwide helps, as the economy is different in different parts of the nation. Usually we artists are the canary in the coal mine and deeply affected by a bad economy. Many galleries closed this year, but others ordered more than last year. It balanced out for me. When the Dems get back in, I anticipate even better sales. Perhaps I'll have a few Fitzmas booms soon. Please...

[newspeak]

61. I picked up my grandson at a major airport

we were over one and a half hours early, since I had to get a pass and go through security. I was shocked to get right to a airline ticket rep. without waiting very long. Lines were very short-I was second one in one line. At the security section I was third. When I picked up my grandson in July, the lines were very long at the ticket counter and the security station. I live in the west, Las Vegas, one of the tourist capitals of the world, and the airport was not buzzing with activity. I've never seen it so unbusy. I asked the rep. if yesterday was really busy and she said that it was about the same as today. Car traffic, however, was very, very busy. It seems people who are traveling are using their autos, instead of flights.

[ken_g]

77. We drove from sacramento to San Francisco on Friday

to pick our son up at SF airport. No traffic to whole round trip. I forgot to mention this tne OP, because it was the other thing that spooked me and my wife

[Nicole]

62. I went to 2 malls that were dead last week

The only crowds I have seen were at the grocery store.

[ribrepin]

65. I noticed that Walmart and the Grocery stores were busy

The rest of the parking lots were pretty empty. I think people are spending on the kids and a nice Christmas dinner. I know that's what we did. There just wasn't any extra money this year.

About two weeks ago, I was surfing the channels and landed the Beltway Boys(Fred Barnes and what's his name). They were popping the champagne corks and telling people that this will be the best Christmas in years. I've noticed that in the last couple of days the MSM seems to be scaling back their predictions. Now they're telling us that the gift cards will pull this Christmas season out. It's going to be interesting to see the after Christmas figures.

[Nicole]

66. Same here

except I skipped the nice Christmas dinner. I was home alone so I ate a ham sandwich.

[WernhamHogg]

63. I went to Best Buy on the 24th...

I put off all my shopping this year and I was dreading the stores. I figured they would be packed. When we arrived at Best Buy, we got a VERY good parking spot and there was practically no lines at the checkout. I was pleasantly surprised. I spoke with my mom and she had a similar Christmas Eve experience in a different store on the other side of the country. It almost seemed...sureal. :shrug:

[scarface2004]

64. we re so poor....

we play with ourselves for christmas!

[La_Fourmi_Rouge]

67. Redeemed a gift card at Macy's...

This morning at the downtown mall, Sactown. Quiet as a cat on cotton, with a tremendous amount of merchandise still on the shelves.

[spinbaby]

71. They were all at the grocery store

I went grocery shopping late Thursday in an attempt to beat the Christmas rush. The place was just packed at 9:00 in the evening and the shelves looked like they'd been picked over by locusts.

[ComerPerro]

72. People honestly think that the reason for fewer last minute shoppers

is because of online shopping?

They are saying that suddenly, despite hundreds of years of evidence to the contrary, people are finally getting more organized and have stopped putting things like Christmas shopping off till the last minute, just because of online shopping?

Ha!

[ken_g]

78. I've had several people reply with that. I don't buy-it. eom

[momisold]

73. Don't know where you live

but in Houston the stores were packed when I was shopping. Bad traffic in my suburb on weekends. Stood in line almost 15 mins in one store last week. On Christmas Eve we were at the in-laws in East Texas and again, the stores were full. Had to go to WalMart as that is about the only store in town - every lane was open and we still had to wait a little.

I did alot more online shopping this year, and bought more gift cards, so maybe that helps speed things up.

[cmd]

75. The Apple Store was very busy

Other than that, I had no trouble finding a parking space, and very little wait in lines. The local candy store was an exception. I was there 40 minutes; and the place was packed.

[lildreamer316]

76. I was at ...wait for it...TOYS R US on xmas EVE..

and got EVERYTHING except one thing I went there for AND got out in under an hour WITHOUT standing in line AND for under $100.
MIRACLE.
Parked within very reasonable walking distance of the door too.
Yes; retailers have to be feelin' it.

[ken_g]

79. What is a reliable source when the numbers are released?

I'm already hearing conflicting data from news reports. I just know Bush admin will do what they always do: Release optimistic numbers for the headlines, then revise downward later.

[Arugula Latte]

80. I wonder if some people have just concluded: "This is nuts."

The excess, the pressure, the debt. In my husband's family and mine, the adults give gifts to the kids but not to each other. Except for spouses.

[bush_is_wacko]

81. I noticed a substantial decrease in shoppers as well.

I have to admit I only went out twice and once to Walmart which was busy, but not as busy as in years past.

I do think though people are giving out more gift cards so people can A) get what they want (B) buy at cheaper prices. I was planning to go out today so my kids could use their gift cards (burning a hole in their pockets and all) so we shall see if my theory holds true.

[newspeak]

82. I noticed this year

that my presents were well thought out and not something I wouldn't use. I received a couple of gift cards (one to Barnes and Noble), Fair Trade coffee beans (that will be enjoyed), a book by Leonard Peltier, a DVD (Live Aid) a CD (Al Frankin) and organic chocolate (yum). And hubby got me the best present-XM so I can listen to Air America. I noticed other family presents, all things given were things that were useful, could be worn or tools. Nothing to be put in a closet and forgotten or wasted.