Apparently consumer spending in the U.S. is down in September and everyone is worried about a down sales year for this christmas and holiday season. Part of the problem is that so many toys have lead ala china production and have been recalled. Another part of the problem is that many people have had their housing mortgage rates adjust and are looking at not affording much or are loosing their homes to forclosure and are in financial disaster. And the last reason is that a lot of people are forecasting a recession due to the job growth slowing sue to the housing boom going bust. Why does every industry have to go through a bubble these days? Anyway, one of the bright spots for retailers is gift cards. They are practical to give, because people can get whatever they want and retailers like them because they get paid up front and a certain percentage of them are lost and they still get to keep that revenue. So here is some info on that forecast for the holiday shopping season from emarketer:
The Protagonist 