Holiday Forecast - Up/Down...and Different

2004 was, in fact, the year that holiday shopping was transformed, never to be the same again. Shoppers came out early to get super deals the Friday after Thanksgiving, then went home and sat on their wallets for two weeks until the deals were even better. ...Online shopping came of age...and gift cards transformed the length and nature of the season.

While the official holiday season may be over, based on what shoppers told us at the beginning of 2004, many will spend their gift card dollars throughout the first quarter of the New Year. ...Expect more of the same this year.

    The Edge