My wife and I went to wal-mart on early Christmas eve and one thing we noticed was that the store was fully stocked. And that includes the Christmas decoration section.
Odd.
NPR said sales were up from last year. ;-)
That is strange; I should probably buy another artificial tree (mine is 15+ years old, and looking every bit of them). Our Wal-Mart is packed all the time (you have to go early, to miss the gibsmedats), but many of those shopping are buying staples - cheap food and clothing (and other stores are feeling the loss of those customers). We’ve lost a Foodtown and a Pathmark, as well as many small businesses, just as many other areas have.
They must be including gift cards as “sales”, though they are actually very different. They are future sales, and the store issuing the card basically carries a liability on its books until the cards are used/merchandise is bought. For the items you describe (Christmas decorations), I don’t see many people buying them in the weeks after Christmas.
My wife bought several Lenox china pieces yesterday for presents next year. She had $100 worth of points she used and came home with a receipt that showed the regular price of everything to be about $575. The bottom line on the receipt was $54.
In addition to supporting me totally in my hobby turned business which is tied directly to pro and semi pro racing, she loves football too!