This is shaping up to be a dismal Christmas. The International Council of Shopping Centers, which is supposed to help promote the industry, last Thursday trumpet­ed an "awful beginning to the holiday season." The big crowds that stampeded (literally, sometimes) through the doors of big-box retailers on Black Friday have dispersed. Shoppers seem inured to the relentless Christmas spirit.

But no indicator was quite so telling as the plaintive message left on my home an­swering machine over Thanksgiving weekend.

A kindly Bergdorf Goodman salesperson invited members of our hum­ble household to stop by and check out the bargains. Now, if you're not a habitué of the his-and-hers luxury department stores on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue, there are a few things you should know about Bergdorf Goodman. This place puts the haughty in haute couture. It's the kind of store where the salespeople take one look at your shoes and judge whether you're a big spender.

Strolling the half-mile of Fifth Avenue from Rockefeller Center to Central Park, you en­counter the businesses that man­age to separate more people from their hard-earned money more than any other (with the possible exception of the financial-service sector). But crowds in these thrift-killing fields were relatively sparse last week.The Rockefeller Center tree, like everything else in New York this year, has been down­sized. The 2008 Norway spruce is 72 feet, down from 84 in 2007.

In Bottega Veneta, not a creature was stirring, not even a Vogue assistant editor. The Apple Store earlier this fall was so mobbed that hipsters had to take a num­ber to enter the glass cube that grants entrée to the Shrine of Jobs. This time, I swept right in and didn't have to wait to pay.

Why should we care where and how the well-off are spending? Well, the top 20 percent of households account for about 40 percent of discretionary spending, and the top 40 percent account for 74 percent of all discretionary spending, according to Boston Consulting Group. As go the rich and wannabe rich, so goes the nation. And while the residents of Richistan aren't moving to Pooristan just yet, they are cutting back..

Luxury retailers have responded by acting like discounters. Saks, which specializes in imported finery, is taking a cue from domestic automakers and offering zero percent financing.
从初步迹象来看，今年的圣诞节会不胜凄凉。本应帮助商场促销的国际购物中心协会上周四大声宣告“节日销售旺季开局不利”。往年“黑色星期五”如潮水般涌入（有时真的毫不夸张）各大仓储式商场的黑压压人群不见了。购物者似乎已经习惯了这种无情的圣诞气氛。

但最能说明问题的莫过于感恩节那个周末我家电话自动答录机上可悲的留言。伯格多夫—古德曼百货公司一名和蔼可亲的导购员要求鄙人一家前去选购特价商品。对了，如果你不常光顾曼哈顿第五街的男男女女奢华用品百货公司，那你应当了解一下关于伯格多夫—古德曼的一些情况。这个地方以其经营的高级女装而自傲。在这种商场，售货员只需扫一眼你脚上的鞋子就能判断你是不是出手阔绰的买家。

在第五街，从洛克菲勒中心逛到中央公园的短短半英里内，你会看到各个商家竭力诱惑人们掏出他们的辛苦钱（金融服务部门可能例外）。但上周这些花钱场所相对来说门庭冷落。跟纽约今年的所有东西一样，洛克菲勒中心门前的圣诞树也缩小了。2008年的挪威云杉只有72英尺高，而2007年是84英尺。

包缇嘉店里冷冷清清，连Vogue杂志的一个助理编辑都没来。苹果店今年秋天早些时候曾经人头攒动，赶时髦的人不得不拿号排队进入这个全玻璃立方体建筑一睹乔布斯圣地的风采。这一次，我畅行无阻，交款时也无需等候。

我们为什么要关心富人把钱花在哪儿以及怎么花呢？是这样的，据波士顿咨询集团称，收入排在前20%的家庭的支出占全国可自由支配开支的约40%，排在前40%的家庭的支出占全国可自由支配支出的74%。富人和准富人的处境怎么样，国家的处境就怎么样。虽然富人国的居民还不至于向穷人国流动，但他们在节衣缩食。

于是，奢华商品零售商只好摆出折扣店姿态。专营进口高级服装的萨克斯第五大街公司效仿国内汽车生产商推出零利率贷款。