• Detroit News, Women's Wear Daily , Thursday, December 18, 2008 11:15 AM

U.S. retail foot traffic fell 17.9% for the week ending Dec. 13, compared with the same week in 2007, according to Chicago-based retail analyst ShopperTrak, but sales were only off by 0.3% for the same period. Plus, traffic was up 16% compared with the week before, with sales up 18%.

Consumers, who "weren't able to come in with an entire paycheck," are more focused on price than ever before, Wal-Mart spokeswoman Tara Stewart tells Jaclyn Trop. In addition to toys and electronics, containers for storing food have sold well as more people celebrate at home, she says.

Meanwhile, Women's Wear Daily is telling subscribers that European retailers are bracing for a downturn -- I can just see them holding onto their berets -- even as a recent study by Deloitte determined that most French consumers want cash as a gift and that 10% of the country won't buy a single present. Talk about a Sacre Blue Christmas!

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