If Shoppers Are Spending Less, Why Is My Store So Busy?

I read in the news that consumers would not spend as much money this year despite the hopes of many retailers. I would like to know where these people are getting their numbers?

Every weekend for the past month I witnessed an increasing rate of people shopping through my lines and that's just the weekend. Days that are normally very slow during the week leave many of us exhausted because the store was understaffed for the onslaught of people.

I think what the media and survey takers are missing is a vital bit of data: how are people spending their money?

I bring this up because I noticed that their are several trends taking place this year versus the years before.

For starters, many people are whipping out the old dusty checkbook or using their debit card and recording their spending in their ledgers. 

Another change in tender is the use of cash. People whip out their cash before I can even ask if they are using our store credit card for their purchases.


The biggest trend is the use of coupons. Everyone is showing up with a handful of coupons and asking which one is still good. In addition, I have generated many catalog/online orders for some very good bargains with free shipping. 

Consumers are on the hunt for the bargains, so that many of my customers started Christmas shopping at the end of the summer and bought clearance items as gifts. 


Other customers come in often and buy a few items at a time with a coupon. People have gotten wiser and smarter about how they spend their money. 


Despite what the news moguls have to say about the holiday season, I'll tell you some data they didn't process. 

Within recent years, my mall went through financial hell and many stores pulled out of the mall. One major store left recently before the season started, yet another store has opened and the mall parking lot is filled with shoppers on the weekend. 



Of course things aren't what they once were, when we had to take a mall shuttle bus to get to a holiday parking lot; however, in comparison to the last couple of years I've witnessed an increase in shoppers that I was not expecting.


In many ways I can't wait to see what Black Friday will be like this year because the mall environment will be different. The mall is opening at midnight and my store has decided to open as soon as possible depending on the line of people standing outside of the doors. 


I'm hoping to observe and listen to what shoppers have to say this year, so that I can give my blog readers something to enjoy. I'll have many posts filled with my Black Friday stories that will make people laugh at the craziness of consumerism.