Leading up to Christmas, stores better watch out!

Although we finally seem to be surfacing from the long, hard economic downturn, it appears that not many people are eager to dive back into debt. The Christmas holidays can be a challenging experience for some people, especially after such an extreme market crisis. In an article titled, “Leading up to Christmas, stores better watch out”, it is stated that while the volume of shoppers has risen, spending by the shoppers has fallen. In my opinion, this is because people are willing to go from store to store in search of savings this holiday season instead of just freely purchasing whatever their heart desires. Is this increase in shoppers and decrease in spending because people are going to the mall with the intentions of stealing, or is it just because people are generally not buying anything?

The article mentions how there is a clip of a Sears security guard trying to apprehend a shoplifter in the store parking lot. After the security guard catches and corners the thief, a handgun was pulled out and the thief shot the guard in the face... twice. This makes me think of how consumers who were greatly affected by the market drop must feel during Christmas holidays. When consumers are backed into a corner by being forced to spend money that they don’t have, the only other option for them is to steal. Although it may not be as extreme as shooting someone, it is a last resort for a lot of people.