Has the recession permanently changed Americans' holiday shopping habits?
It might be the saddest holiday story of the recession: Postal service workers who process letters addressed to Santa in the North Pole reported this month that kids are asking for more socks, shoes, and coats-necessities, rather than Barbies or Nintendos. "The need is greater this year than I've ever seen it," head elf Pete Fontana told USA Today. "One little girl didn't want anything for herself. She wanted a winter coat for her mother.
It is the third recession-era holiday season. And although the economy has picked back up in recent months, Americans are clearly still adjusting to the new normal of high unemployment, sagging wages, increased poverty, and general economic malaise. Tear-jerking Santa stories aside, how have the bad economic times changed the way Americans treat-and shop for-the holidays? And what might be the effect going forward?
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