You're about to hear, if you haven't already, scores of dire prognostications as to the upcoming holiday shopping season. With the economy reputedly in the crapper, plus the natural tendency for the media to jump on anything that justifies a "Worst Christmas Season for Merchants in Years" headline, you just know there's gonna be some doom and gloom.
It's only common sense to believe people will cut back given all the bad stuff going on. But can we be sure people are gonna cut back on buying stuff? I'm starting to think otherwise based on anecdotal evidence--a fancy way of saying, "I talked to a few people," but, hey, one of these people was my wife, and I'm reasonably sure I can trust her.
Turns out the malls around here are already packed. Mrs. Shark returned burned out, frustrated, and dispirited after a brief shopping excursion last weekend. The mall was insane. This was the week before Thanksgiving, remember.
I've heard similar experiences already. In other words, though the world may be falling apart, though numbers just came out today reporting a big drop in consumer spending in October, I still have no reason to believe going to a shopping mall--or a big shopping center/plaza/strip mall/what have you, for that matter--will be anything less than a big migraine in the weeks ahead.
Maybe I'm wrong, though. Perhaps my area is insulated from the economic woes. Perhaps the shopping situation is so chaotic here that even a drop to mildly chaotic wouldn't register. I suppose it's even possible that all those families at the mall are just walking around and not actually shopping--but I doubt it.
In summary, then, the Cultureshark Christmas Economic Forecast calls for the following: Long lines, non-navigable parking lots, stifling crowds, and general confusion. You heard it here first!
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