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To: kris b who wrote (76575)	12/25/2006 1:36:22 PM
From: jimmg	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 110194

kris, this is exactly what I'm talking about. You quote a paragraph from an article that talks about retailers missing expectations. Here are a few paragraphs from that exact same article: Santa Monica, Calif.-based Macerich Co., which operates 80 malls nationwide, reported that traffic was up 36 percent in the week ended Saturday from the previous week. Kathleen Waugh, spokeswoman at Toys "R" Us said this past week was "exceptionally strong, " particularly on Saturday. Meanwhile, a late buying binge online helped online retailers surpass holiday sales forecasts, according to comScore Networks. Online spending from Nov. 1 through Wednesday reached $21.68 billion, marking a 26 percent increase compared to the corresponding year-ago period. The results exclude travel, auctions and corporate purchases. ComScore expected holiday sales to rise 24 percent. The final days before Christmas and post-holiday business, boosted in party by gift cards redemptions, have becoming increasingly important for retailers. According to BigResearch, which conducted a poll for the National Retail Federation, consumers are expected to spend a total of $24.81 billion on gift cards this holiday season, up from $18.48 billion in the year-ago period. Online retail sales up 26%. Gift card sales up 35%. Not the kind of news you want to hear so you ignore it.

To: kris b who wrote (76575)	12/25/2006 10:52:21 PM
From: Lizzie Tudor	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 110194

this is nothing new. Every year Christmas spending moves back another day. At the end of the first week in Jan we will know the real numbers, I think they are pretty good. Oops I see a huge discussion here about the same article you posted. I agree with Jimmyg. We'll just have to see how this works out. One thing I am certain of though- Christmas, as a non-working holiday and its significance when it comes to commerce is diluted compared to 20 years ago. I know people who went out to dinner for Christmas dinner this year, unheard of a few years ago. As for retail it is just the "sales season" and people don't care as much as they used to that that TV is there exactly on Dec 25th, I think anyway.