Oct 30, 2007

I missed the Annual Holiday "Whine Fest"

Since I was a little busy in September with Mark being ill, I missed the annual announcement by the National Retail Federation that Holiday shopping will be the worst ever this year. I swear, I can hear Eeyore's voice every year when this announcement comes out. LINK. It is NEVER, "Hey, we're going to have a GREAT Holiday shopping season! The economy's great and people are in a good mood!" It's always, (insert Eeyore's voice here), "It's bad... very bad... the worst ever... We predict doom and gloom for retailers everywhere..." It's like they are getting their marketing advice from Despair (one of my favorite online sites - their stuff is a crack-up!)

And, then, what happens EVERY January? They come out with an announcement that the holiday shopping season was better than expected. PLEASE! Are they trying to guilt people into shopping more? I don't know about you, but I'm going to buy what I need to buy and not because I feel personally responsible for the survival of a store. It's like the organization tosses a big wet blanket over the whole Holiday Shopping season right off the bat. Nice. Way to put people in the mood to shop.

Stores complain that consumers won't buy anything at Christmas not deeply discounted. Well, DUH! Retailers taught us that. They start discounting the minute the report comes out. And, I know that the longer I wait, the more likely I am to get that Chia pet at 50% off 4 days before Christmas. Gone are the days when I had to wait until AFTER Christmas to get my Chia pet at a discount. Hey, BTW, I haven't seen a "Ch-ch-ch-Chia" commercial yet this fall. They usually start with them about now - "Makes a Great Gift! CH-CH-CH-Chia!"

Just one year, I would love to see the National Retail Federation not call holiday shopping doomed before it even starts. Shop on! You're gonna wish you had bought Basic Grey's Figgy Pudding - better do it now before it's gone!

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