I think this sorta “well, I dont see it, so it must not be so” metric is prob the most used, and the least accurate measurement tool people have. People still are people, so will find things to do. The malls may be packed, but people are not necessary buying much. Or if they are buying, they can be scalling down from Guess to Levis’s. All you see is they just bought a pair of jeans, it is the stores who suffer the $150 difference.
I got seated in the cheesecake factory in mission valley in 5 minutes on Friday night at 6:30. Got to see “Get Smart” opening night and we had ok seats showing up 10 minutes before the movie. Does that mean the economy sucks? No, it means it was hot out and people didnt want to be inside when it finally cooled down.
People are looking for a diversion from the stress. So we see more people at the malls and movie theators and such and think it must be ok, when in reality, the pain is being masked by the way we deal with it.
