Economic Downer

Today I went to some department stores and I have to say- YAAAWWNN. One store made a glimmer of effort with pre-packaged "gifts to go"on tables littered throughout the store while the racks had the same old crap I saw there months ago. And I mean crap. If this stuff was in my closet I would donate it. I definitely got the feeling nothing's moving. I saw Christmas items marked down today at 40-50% off! It's November 19th.
There was also buzz (and this is sick) that a certain retailer was handing out coupons in the subway with a lottery ticket stapled to it so people would take it. What's next- a fashion show at the OTB? Pret-a-Potty!!
A survey posted by Forbes.com states, "shoppers plan an average total spend of $546 this year, which is a 14 percent decline compared to $637 from the 2007."
What do you think are this holiday's big bets and what will fall flat?