February 13, 2008

DOES ANYONE REALLY THINK SALES FELL IN DECEMBER EITHER?:

U.S. consumers go back to shopping (The Associated Press, February 13, 2008)

U.S. shoppers put aside worries about a slumping economy to go to the malls and auto dealerships in January, propelling retail sales to a surprising rebound following a dismal December.

The U.S. Commerce Department reported Wednesday that retail sales rose 0.3 percent last month. Sales had fallen 0.4 percent in December as retailers experienced their worst holiday shopping season in five years.

Posted by Orrin Judd at February 13, 2008 12:45 PM
Comments

"But the January rebound may not last given all the problems facing consumers from a steep slump in housing to job losses and a severe credit squeeze."

So there is hope for Democrats and media types (pardon my redundancy) everywhere.

Posted by: JonSK at February 13, 2008 1:15 PM

Note that under current accounting rules, gift cards show up as revenue when they're used, not when they're purchased (up to a point, anyway; I forget how long they have to be unused before the store is allowed to assume they never will be).

Posted by: Mike Earl at February 13, 2008 1:50 PM

Only those who don't scour the information highway for clues to where the truth lies ... meaning almost everyone.

Posted by: erp at February 13, 2008 4:54 PM

Have you been to a mall lately? It's just one woman's clothing store after another. Boring!

Posted by: Bartman at February 14, 2008 8:53 AM

What's a mall?

Posted by: oj at February 14, 2008 12:11 PM
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