Left work a little early and made my annual visit to the mall yesterday. Our local mall is about average sized. Three main anchor stores (Sears, Penney's and Macy's). Not one of these huge megamalls, but still not small.
As you'd expect there were Christmas carols playing in the background and the mall was decorated in winter finery (even in Florida we appreciate fake snow!). But there was one thing missing...shoppers. Granted it was 5 pm on a Wednesday, but you'd expect there to be some shoppers bagging holiday bargains a mere two weeks before Christmas.
I admit I don't know what to make of this. According to CNN "black Friday" sales were up 2.2% from last year. At the same time the International Council of Shopping Centers reported that November 2008 sales figures were the weakest in 35 years.
It could just be that our local mall has become obsolete. There are much larger malls half an hour's drive north and south. Like many shoppers, I buy most of my Christmas gifts online. And, when I don't buy online, often I'm looking for personalized help, so I shop at the much smaller mom and pop shops that tend to be in smaller shopping centers.
I'd love to hear what you see happening this holiday shopping season. Please drop me an email.
