Bwaahahaha! "Retailers hope for a busy final weekend"...

[Career Prole]

...and as dear ol' Dad used to say, "Hope in one hand and crap in the other and see which one fills up first!"

Check out this story because apparently retailers have stopped blaming oil prices for the dismal sales this Christmas and are now choosing to blame it on... (drumroll)...
We've plumb forgotten that Christmas is only a week away!! :D

Retailers hope for a busy final weekend

Fri Dec 17, 6:36 AM ET
By Lorrie Grant, USA TODAY

Retailers are trying to nudge procrastinators into stores with reminders that it's the last full weekend for Christmas shopping.

Only 46% of shoppers say they've finished buying gifts, vs. 52% this time last year, when there were severe snowstorms in many parts of the nation, finds a survey by the National Retail Federation.

<snip>

So far, the day after Thanksgiving has been the high point of the holiday shopping season. Much of the business that day came in response to deep discounts, promotions, extra-long hours and other gimmicks to lure shoppers.

<snip>

Retailers can only hope the hoopla gets consumers to realize how little time is left. If the season does not have a big finish, the industry is likely to fall short of its expected sales of $220 billion, up 5% from last year.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1270&ncid=1270&e=4&u=/usatoday/20041217/bs_usatoday/retailershopeforabusyfinalweekend

Hey you shrub-donating, outsourcing jackasses, we didn't forget you...
YOU FORGOT US!!

[bunkerbuster1]

1. Perhaps we forgot poland?

need some wood?

[Jo March]

11. LOL! I'm glad that I wasn't drinking anything when I read your post!

Funny!

[catzies]

2. Isn't there a blizzard forecast for the Northeast this weekend?

That can't help matters much. :D

[TexasChick]

3. Good luck getting money from me! I've been unemployed for two

years now. I don't have money to give to you retailers.

[Coyul]

30. You and Me both n/t

[Tansy_Gold]

33. That makes three of us.

No holiday shopping in our house.

Hand-made gifts all around, many of them using materials not available in retail stores: found, salvaged, recycled, etc.

I simply refuse to give corporate stockholders any more of my (hubby's) hard-earned pennies than absolutely necessary.


Tansy Gold, who is very glad she's in Arizona and doesn't absolutely have to turn the heat on

[DireStrike]

4. Why do they word it like that?

"If the season does not have a big finish, the industry is likely to fall short of its expected sales of $220 billion, up 5% from last year."


What the hell? Why do they go out of their way to tell us that the expected sales are "up 5% from last year"?

Fucking corporate sellouts.

[candy]

5. I will not shed one tear if they come up short-----

I did ALL of my shopping in small,independent stores.including books and toys.

I finished wrapping today and did not use paper if the box was attractive(just a bow) I probably saved a tree by doing this.

I'm lucky enough to be able to spend my usual amount but I'm sick to death of the crap!

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

6. see..rich people alone can't prop up the economy

therefore, all these retailers who supported Shrubco getting re-elected in favor of their tax cuts can go fuck themselves

[Warpy]

16. Exactly.

With a shrinking market for goods and services because people are already unemployed or afraid of losing their jobs, employers will be tightening their staff still further, and layoffs of seasonal employees have already begun at the big chains.

Oh, the rich will still go out and squander millions on gold and diamond tchotchkes from upscale boutiques, so the overall figures won't look as bad as they are for us here on the bottom. However, they won't be able to hide the number of "Going Out of Business: SALE" signs we'll start to see in January.

Everything happens from the bottom up, something completely contrary to the GOP mindset and increasingly to that in our own party, as well.

[Bouncy Ball]

20. "Tchotchkes" has got to be one of my favorite words.

Sorry. Off-topic.

[GOPisEvil]

18. You mean a healthy economy has to percolate from the bottom up?

Communist.

[T Wolf]

7. My family has cut back drastically this year.

Each child is gettting ONE present and the wife and I are not exchanging gifts. My daughters are combining their money to get something small for each parent.

And I am sure to let everyone we talk to know that, especially the repuke relatives who are wallowing in debt and welfare and still live better (read more extravagantly) than we do.

I will do nothing to help out the economy.

[madinmaryland]

9. That's what we are doing.

Thanks to shrub's wonder economy. Been laid off twice in 4 years. Now working full-time again.

[Jo March]

13. T Wolf, we are doing the same thing

We've really cut back. Small gifts all around and only from local, small BLUE stores. ;)

Christmas isn't about giving anyway, darnit.

[aquart]

8. As the child of retailers, this breaks my heart.

You cube rats don't know how desperately dependent retailers are on the Christmas rush. We bought the goods on credit or with every dime we could scrape together, now we have to pay for them. If you don't buy, we die.

I remember my sister, sitting in her store in September: "I bought too much. I bought all the wrong stuff. No one will come. No one will buy." It's scary. But those were good years, and soon she was saying, "I didn't buy enough. Where can I get more?" Now is very different.

Working retail is eighty and ninety hour weeks for the small owner. It's terror and hope and dear god, are they taxing our air conditioner now? Retailers are cash cows for local administrations. And that box and ribbon you want? HAVE YOU EVER CONSIDERED HOW MUCH IT COSTS???????

Anyway, it's a tough business and this year is going to destroy the independance of many struggling people.

[wildeyed]

14. I hear you.

I have been spending less this year, but what I have has gone mostly to smaller local retailers. I figure that even if they are repub, they can't afford to give huge amounts of money to political parties.

[Jo March]

15. aquart, you misunderstood, I think

We aren't boycotting the Mom and Pop stores. We are actually encouraging folks to buy from small stores.

Wal-mart can bite me but the local stores will be seeing me and my cash - what little I can afford.

[Career Prole]

28. Absolutely...Mom and Pop stores

are the new black. :thumbsup:

[Bouncy Ball]

21. Hey we support

small businesses and retailers. Independent folks. It's the huge chains I don't care for.

[Career Prole]

29. We support the working retailers, aquart.

It's the giants who support the Reich we no longer feed.
Like all the stores in the bitty town where I live.
Walk in one of 'em to shop any day of the week, at any time, and you'll find the owner there. That's caring about your customers.
I don't believe the Walton family show up at "the store" to chew the fat with the customers very often.

[gnofg]

10. Ho Ho Ho

I have been talking to the major retailers at their corporate offices. It sucks big time. Here's a hint all you repubs who think the economy is great( Greenspan, Feldstein). IT SUCKS. You can tell by the enthusiasm in the stores and the speed in which people are purchasing. Think fondly of Christmas shopping in the Clinton Years and the joy of giving. Repubs are sourpusses and their negative emotion drains the life out of a country. People don't buy when everything is negative and is there anybody more negative than republicans..

[Atman]

12. Blizzard coming this weekend...today was the end

I decided to take advantage of the 90% markdowns now, since I'll be snowboarding Monday and might not get the chance next week. The malls are GIVING shit away. Un-freaking-believable. I've spent my limited cake in only a couple of blue-friendly stores, and passed up serious deals at scummy shitholes like Target. But it is crazy...I've worked in the home-office end of retail in the past, for one of the nation's largest fashion retailers, and I know from those years of experience, when they're marking down stuff this drastically now, it means only one thing....people just aren't buying. There's gonna be a lot of shirt-losing this week and next. And I couldn't be happier for the corporations that sent their money to BushCo.

Karma carries heavy chains.



1st Amendment Shoppe (blue!)

Blue-friendly Resources and links at NotBannedYet.US

[Bouncy Ball]

17. I just posted this:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x2838952

Heard a manager say the same thing: that they were hoping people were waiting until the last minute.

[Career Prole]

27. I just checked it out...

...you even drew out a freeper troll! Well done! :D

[TlalocW]

19. According to another post

CNN mentioned something about democrats buying blue so it looks like that campaign is working. I did my part and picked up some gifts from Target and smiled when I remembered how they cast out the Salvation Army bell-ringers when I entered the store.

Everything else was Ebay auction wins from individuals, and I even did some outsourcing by winning something from a seller in Taiwan.

Hopefully, all this will send a message to the fat cats - screw us over, and it comes back to bite you.

TlalocW

[Bouncy Ball]

22. Good.

Glad to know they are starting to talk about what we are doing in the mainstream media.

After Christmas you'll really be able to see the numbers--if they release them. If the bush administration lets them.

[Jo March]

23. We need to keep reminding them - we will NOT support

* supporters. We will buy BLUE and support BLUE.

[proud patriot]

24. So far I've been very good

for my sons teacher and two aides I got

teacher male : candy bouquet small local business
she makes the most gorgeous bouquets of candy .

two aides female: 10 dollar gift certificates
to this Great shop full of fairies and windchimes
candles bath stuff ..It's a womens heaven in that place.

I'm very proud of myself

[tanyev]

25. Obviously the retailers haven't been praying

hard enough. This economy is based on faith, not hope.

[durablend]

31. Those CEOs had better get their asses to church

This Sunday...or else!

[Piperay]

26. I haven't forgotten it is just a week

away, I'm just not buying anything!

[SoCalDem]

32. I shopped online....in my jammies

I ordered a poker table for my youngest son from an outfit in Michigan

... ordered a Lanz nightgown and shearling lined leather slippers for my best friend

...got my son & daughter in law in Concord, a Cuisinart Food processor (the big stainless steel one to match their appliances..yeeeouch , it's pricey) online from an outfit in NYC (they already received it)..

...Money and Target gift cards and some RossForLess clothing and a spiffy winter jacket for my Seattle son

and in each son's box went homemade cookies, chex mix,socks,books ordered online and a big container of pistachios from Costco.

My husband and I do not exchange "gifts"..we get whatever we each want whenever we want it :)

[RetroLounge]

34. I've been shopping local independant stores

and Blue retailers.

To the Red-Donating stores, I say, FUCK YOU.

Ahhh, feel better.

RL

[AgadorSparticus]

35. we've forgotten? that's pretty pathetic and sad.

they've been force feeding the whole consume-buy meme and that is all they can come up with? wow. it's almost funny if it wasn't so tragic.

i went into kohl's yesterday to pick up a couple more scrapbooks. just about everything was 60% off. last week it was 50% off. i guess it is looking VERY grim for retailers.

[Yuugal]

36. how much more crap do we need?

My extended family all agreed not to buy a single thing this year and to bake a pie or cookies or knit something but make it all home-made gifts. I wonder how many other families just aren't buying into the consumerism this year. The kids will still get their pile of toys but the adults just don't need another useless widget.

My house is chock full of crap I hardly ever use or will never use. I'm lucky if I use the blender a couple times a year and I have 40 gadgets laying around in the kitchen that dice slice puree and chop(some still in the packaging). My garage looks like the tool section at sears. Do I really need that 18th screwdriver? A cappuccino machine? Another can of miracle goop for my car? As I look at the sheer volume of useless crap around me, most of which will eventually be given away or thrown out, I shake my head at the waste.

We are going to set a record for sales this year but its going to be for worst year since......