Don't listen to these geniues. We are headed for a collapse this year! The world is ceasing to use the US Dollar as the reserve currency and since our fiat money has no assets to back it, our currency is going to crash. Get close to God because he's the only one that can help you.
I am always suspicious of early holiday season reports of glowing sales around Thanksgiving and especially Black Friday. Then, right after Christmas I always wonder if retailers lowball estimates so they can beat-the-street on same-store-sales reports.
That said, because of the souring economy I am not surprised by reports of Lackluster Holiday Sales.
Worst Shopping Season Since 2008