I've been reading about retailers worried about poor sales this year, and how they were starting their sales before Christmas in hope of a last minute splurge. I think this is possibly a mistake.

It is *really* galling to find that a present you bought a week before Christmas has been reduced 2 days before Christmas to 50% of the price you paid. So galling in fact that several presents brought this year for me by my wife, and vice-versa, have been returned as "unwanted gifts". Unwanted because to be honest I don't want them at that price!

Next year sales in the run up to Christmas are likely to be even more dire as people wait for Christmas Eve to shop. Overall sales will be down because with so many people shopping Christmas Eve people will get frustrated and buy less.

It's always been a little annoying to see the gift you bought heavily reduced in the post-Christmas sales, but you did it because you needed them for Christmas Day. The same is not true of course when sales start before the big day.