Hi Snowshoe,
More anecdotal information obtained simply by shopping...
Today I had gone to CostCo for some shopping, a trip I almost always procrastinate on because I hate waiting in the long lines, and I almost always get the line where some guy is buying supplies to be retailed elsewhere, and those people always take much longer than everyone else in line... So to make a long story short, I simply bit the bullet and went there.
Shocking! CostCo had maybe 6 lines open (out of a possible 15 to 20 or so). There was maybe 1 customer in each line. I took my purchases to an empty line and was in and out of the store in under 10 minutes, including the length of time it took me to park the car.
The aisles were completely empty. There may have been about 25 customers in the store, and perhaps twice that many working by stocking shelves, cashiering, customer service and stuff like that. The parking lot didn't look that empty to me, but the store sure was empty.
It usually takes me a while (10 minutes or so) to find a parking spot that isn't out in left field somewhere. Add about 1/2 hour to do the actual shopping and close out with another 20 minutes in the checkout line. An hour or so, even on a Monday, is not an unusual amount of time to allot for shopping at CostCo (formerly Price Club).
So, in and out in under 10 minutes, while a blessing for me as a customer, might seem to be further anecdotal evidence of problems surfacing in the discount retail sector.
Just an observation, but I think that Joe Six-Pack may indeed be watching his pennies now...
KJC |
