My day at the mall (and why I wish there was more elbowing)
Sunday, October 26, 2008 at 07:19PM Not that we needed more evidence of the slowing economy, but today I took a trip to the Short Hills mall in New Jersey. For residents of the region, they'll recognize it as perhaps the most high-end mall in the northeast.
It's usually bustling on a Sunday afternoon, with shoppers elbowing a path from Nieman Marcus to Bloomingdale's, and over to Nordstrom, before settling at Louis Vuitton. Maybe a pit-stop at Tiffany along the way. For me, claustrophobia typically settles in about 20 minutes after arrival, which is then followed by a round of begging pleading to my wife to let us leave already. Her verdict is always swift and merciless.
Today it felt more barren than the Giants redzone playbook. No elbowing, no stroller-derby, no line squatting. It was eerily quiet, like one of those b-movies where the zombies have munched on the unsuspecting town and the handful of survivors congregate at the mall. I was one of those lucky survivors.
One recent survey showed that holiday spending could be down a cataclysmic 15 percent this year. From my observations, that could be generous.
Reader Comments (1)
I don't know if it's any consolation, but a lot of people were elbowing me in the stores on 5th Avenue btwn 14th & 23rd.