Noticed while attending DFA Wednesday,parking lots EMPTY

[merbex]

at a shopping area that had a Borders,Sports Authority,Best Buy, KMart, Bed Bath Beyond as "anchors"

You could find a spot practically in the front row of any of these stores

I do my best to stay away from malls this time of year anyway but I was amazed at how quiet it was

What are you seeing where you live?

[EFerrari]

1. I never go to malls, so I couldn't say. In general though

I'm not seeing the feeding frenzy we expect in December.

[SpiralHawk]

2. To my eye, the shops in northern NM have been damn quiet also

Not a systematic look-see, just my casual observation.

I mean spookily quiet. Hell, I don't have any money to spend in the malls this year -- and the (groan) heating bill just arrived from -- what I think of as -- the Republican Oil Crony Cabal of George AWOL Bush. Groan.

[katinmn]

3. I stay away from malls, too, but small business owners are very worried.

Business has been down for months and it's only picked up a little in recent days.

When I got my hair cut this week the co-owner said business has been down for months.

[FloridaPat]

4. I like to take a quick tour of the parking lots during Xmas season.

Last week they weren't filled. In front of some of the stores, they were half empty. When I first moved here 10 years ago, during Xmas, the people would be parking on the grass. It has not been that good for the last 3 years. Should be interesting to see what it's like for the rest of this year.

[Clark2008]

5. Finished my shopping well before Thanksgiving.

I hate to shop - I certainly didn't inherit that gene in my female psyche - and it's worse during the "Christmas Massacre," so I don't go to malls after the turkey is carved. I end up killing someone.

Therefore, I have no idea how busy they are (or aren't).

[spinbaby]

6. I was at the mall last night

I went shopping for a parka to take me through the winter. It was slow, but weekday evenings usually slow so it's hard to tell. I did notice that the department store I was in had darn near everything on sale at discounts I would not have expected until after Christmas. I got a nice brand-name parka for a third of the original price. Made in China, of course.

[Love Bug]

7. I was at the Mall of America 2 days ago after work and

it was a little busier than normal for the middle of the week, but not like you'd expect 2 weeks before Christmas. Hard to say.

[Warren Stupidity]

8. Why do you hate christmas? eom.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

9. Mall in Springfield MO

looked like it had its usual compliment of shoppers. The place that looked like it had a lot more than usual was Target. I didn't go to either place, just drove by.

[supernova]

10. Plan to go this weekend

The only other shopping I did was an outlet tour over Thanksgiving: one brand in Western NC and the other was the huge outlet mall near the Charlotte speedway. The Designer outlet in western NC was busier than usual, according to my friend who worked for them at one time and who still shops there.

The speedway mall, I can't say. It was extremely busy, lot nearly full, but I couldn't tell you if it's always that busy.

edit: I'll let you know what I see tomorrow and report back. I also expect to do quite a bit of shopping online because I don't like crowds.

[Spinzonner]

11. Out here in SOCal

lots of the major dept and clothing stores are opening very early and staying open very late. A number as early as 6 AM some days and as late as 12 Midnight some days.

[fudge stripe cookays]

12. Fewer and fewer stores to shop AT.

Building vacancies are popping up here at an alarming rate. Mainstays that have been here for years are going going gone. Even chains are closing locations right and left.

fsc