Idol Chatter

Black Friday 2008 has now come and gone.  With much trepidation many retail stores and, frankly, economists will be counting the numbers.  Is Black Friday a good barameter of the Holiday spending totals?  Or could it be that with all the hype about how dramatic the deals were going to be and how much price slashing would be evidient, customers were left feeling a bit disappointed?

If that’s the case, if Black Friday becomes Bleak Friday, there is still a modicum of hope.  The fact is that Christmas will come and some level of buying always happens.  Christmas 2008 is already fated to go down on the records as one of no growth and probable retraction of sales volumes that have been achieved in prior years.

And the real story about Christmas 2008 will be told after Christmas as some retailers just won’t be able to make it.  There’s no jolly in that thought.  But the US economy is one driven by the consumer.  Consumers are fearful.  There have been many job layoffs already announced and as folks reduce spending in fear that their jobs may be next, they actually promote the very outcome they seek to avoid.  Ironic isn’t it?

In a day or two we’ll all be told how it went.  In the meantime, perhaps I’ll make a trip to the mall or better yet wait until Cyber Monday and buy something online.