According to today's Wall Street Journal ("Marketplace" page), it looks like this year's holiday spending is increasing at a much slower rate (6%) than last year's strong growth (9%) in the U.S. A drop in apparel sales due to the warm weather this winter seems hurting most, although an increasing demand for electronics is still pushing up overall consumption spending. Similarly, Japanese consumers are spending less on cold-weather apparel this winter than last year, while consumer electronics and relatively expensive food items seem to be selling well, according to today's Nikkei Newspaper. These lackluster year-end sales situations in the both countries are not just due to warm winter, but also resulting from a declining real estate market in the case of the U.S., and from a stagnant income level for consumers in the case of Japan. In these respects, we just hope to have a much better year next year.
