were down 3%. there s a still a lot of inventory and what s fuelling the sales a lot on the positive end, the gift cards. billions of dollars in gift cards out there. everyone s looking to spend them. retailers want that money so they can get it on their sheets. what do you think, carmen? since you ve been watching this for so many years and seasons, what does it tell us about sfwhirn. here s thing. about the economy, how we re doing. we re seeing a shift in how people are spending so, for example, luxury items, big cutback this year. that is very telling. that means that people are still not feeling safe enough to be able to spend money on luxury items. there s a lot of items for the home, a lot of clothes for the kids, a lot of very basic needs, but we re seeing people hold on to their wallets when it comes to bigger things. postholiday sales, save some of your holiday budgeting money for post holiday season. you need something, this is a great time to get it. i did and i d