When Up is Down
Merry Christmas!

It was another record year for retailers this holiday shopping season, but that's not the story you'll hear from the mainstream press. No, you're gonna hear gloom-and-doom stories like this one from the New York Times, which moans about how retail sales were up just 1 percent over last year.

Statistics from the International Council of Shopping Centers show that holiday sales increases in the last three years have steadily shrunk — from a 9.5 percent increase in 1999 to just a 4 percent gain in 2000 and a slim 2.3 percent jump last year.

The paper notes the rise of online shopping and a very high level of discounting, but doesn't make three important points:

1. Much of that online shopping now takes place at websites owned by retailers, so even though sales at retail stores may have risen just 1 percent, the retailers didn't lose.

2. Discounting - which benefits consumers by helping them spread their dollars farther - also reduces the retail sales total by lowering prices. The real key is units sold - did the stores sell more stuff this year than last year? Yes, they did, at lower prices.

3. This was the best year ever for retailers - and, thanks to that discounting, for customers too.

Let's get this straight: 1999 was the best year in history for retailers. But then came 2000 and it was 4 percent better. And then came 2001 and it was 2.3 percent better than 2000. And this year is expected to be one percent better than 2001. So 2002 is now the best year in history for retailers - despite the sluggish economy.

Yet, the retail industry is poor-mouthing it like sales were down. They weren't. Sales were up.

UPDATE: Retailers continue to complain. But consumers will benefit big-time.