This was meant to be posted yesterday, but the question still lingers to me: Is it really true that the absolute busiest shopping day of the year is the day after Thanksgiving?
The newspapers make a big deal about this - usually they use front-page hype to promote the new "Elmo" doll (I could care less if he tickles, touches or swears). These articles give you the impression that you HAVE to be there to watch the hoopla, spend countless hours participating in it, and make your wallet ten pounds lighter.
Well... driving around after work yesterday about 2PM EST, I saw a mall that didn't even need their overflow parking area. I used to live near Southland Mall in Taylor, and they had a gravel patch, far away from the building, that they only used this time of year for overflow parking. I live near Westland Mall now, and I couldn't believe the amount of parking spaces available -- even halfway down the aisle. I don't consider this a rush; I really didn't note a drastic difference in car volume.
Then to K-Mart near my house to retrieve the roommate's forgotten items from an earlier trip. In addition to overflow parking lots, I always remembered long lines, and every cashier station open & operating. The K-Mart in Woodhaven used to have nineteen checkout lines, and it was so funny to see all of them operating. This K-Mart has twelve checkout lines, and four of them were still closed! I was in & out of the line in five minutes. These are not the "rushes" I remember.
You can throw out all the statistics the papers throw at you about the economy, and even forget the malaise that is Michigan's economy: if people want to buy, they will buy. Where were the buyers, then -- if indeed Friday was supposed to be the busiest shopping day of the year?
The holiday evidentally has gotten off to a flat start in '06 in spite of what the papers are saying (the papers are lying & sensationalizing -- gee, what a Christmas gift).
