Slower holiday sales this year?

Earlier this week I caught a story on Yahoo! News titled 'Subdued' shopping season? It stated that Experts predict holiday sales will fall short of last year's.

I read the article, hoping to find some interesting statistics and solid information - but instead they talked mainly about the recent fall in gas prices and how that affects consumer spending. By the end of the article they had backtracked though, and said it may not matter that much anyway...

Even though gas prices have retreated from their summer surge, the National Retail Federation said Tuesday that it still expects this year's holiday sales growth to fall short of last year's increase.

If gas prices continue to fall, the group estimates that shoppers will have wiggle room in their wallets to spend more freely in the months ahead.

Here in Tennessee the gas prices have fallen around .70c/gallon in the last few weeks, going down from almost $3.00/gallon to around $2.19 per gallon. "Twenty Dollars worth, please" now equals over 9 gallons of gas - versus a few weeks ago when it got you less than 7.

Since I dont commute to a job or own an SUV, and do most of my shopping online, my own gasoline budget is probably a lot lower than most. In an average month I might buy and use 10-15 gallons of gas. That would cost me a little over $43 up until recently - but now less than $33. Simply put, the price of gas doesnt have that big of an impact on my life...

I should think that gas prices would encourage more online shopping, if anything. Besides fighting the crowds and dealing with overworked and crabby sales staff... you can also save time and (gas) money by shopping online.

All said and done, what you pay in shipping charges is not far from what you might expect to pay in gas after running all over town. Of course, most websites offer Free Shipping during the holiday season - which is all the better! And if your time and sanity have any value to you at all, you are obviously coming out way ahead 😉

Personally I thought the article on Yahoo stunk. I'm much more interested to hear what you have to say on the topic...

Just how high up does gasoline rank on your list of expenses? And does the current price of gas affect your holiday spending? If so, does this mean you would be more apt to shop online and look for sales, deals, free shipping offers - or that you would search at eBay before shopping elsewhere?