There seems to be plenty of shoppers out there. But according to photo store owner Larry Kuntz they are doing a lot of shopping but not much spending. "We see a lot more people shopping, checking prices and then looking for good values," said Larry Kuntz with Nelson Photo in San Diego's Little Italy.
"We're definitely going to be down this year," Kuntz said, but that doesn't mean people are spending money. What seems to be happening is they are downsizing their list. Instead of buying the high ticket camera, people are buying smaller cheaper cameras.
"We got great sales on everything from the 19-inch television all the way up to the 50 and 60-inch TV's," said Terrell Harrison of Best Buy. Sales of smaller TV's are higher than usual according to industry experts who say customers looking for high definition televisions are buying smaller size models.
One store that is actually doing better than last year is Goodwill. Mike Rowan with San Diego's Goodwill stores said, "I think the economy is influencing people's shopping habits." Sales figures for Goodwill show a surprising 14 percent increase over December of last year.
Goodwill officials say they're seeing more and more people doing their Christmas shopping at the popular thrift store. "I think they're looking more closely at what they're buying, for better value. They are looking for their money to go a little farther," said Rowan.
