News reports say shopping from
Thanksgiving through the weekend was down against last year both in-store and on-line.

Experts are mixed on what it means, though the predictions still call for increased retail spending this year.

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I don’t shop, except on weekly grocery store trips. But I accompanied my wife to a store at a West Little Rock shopping center on Saturday. Plenty of spaces in the parking lot. Plenty of shoppers, but not an oppressive number. In the Apple store, a number of sales people stood around waiting for customers to help.

My own theory on shopping: Thanks to the Internet, it’s a year-round endeavor for many people. Big sales come and go with regularity on individual products and at various retailers. Packages arrive at my doorstep with regularity via UPS. Come Christmas shopping time, I get the feeling my wife, the shopper in the family, has much of her work done. Friday was just another day. But that’s only the observation of a shopaphobic.

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The New York Times article linked at the beginning notes that Walmart seemed a departure from the trend, with busy stores, That’s one in Arkansas at the top, via Twittter.

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