Every single person said 'less.'
A disappointing season for consumers means an even more disappointing season for retailers.
"The National Retail Federation is forecasting a very modest growth of 2.2-percent; that would be the slowest gains we've seen since 2002," Scott Krugman of the NRF said.
One exception to October's plummeting retail sales figures is discount chain Wal-Mart. It posted a 2.4 percent increase in sales.
Its Top 10 Toys for 10-dollars is a popular promotion and starting Saturday it will roll back prices on more toys as well as some electronics.
LINK: Holiday Shopping Tips "Well, I know we have a very, very good buy on a laptop for $298. We have a Playstation 3, when you buy one, you get a $100 gift card for Walmart," Ron Righman of Wal-Mart siad.
"In this type of environment, I think the consumer's are in the driver's seat when it comes to price because of that retailers have a lot of competition and they're going to be forced to lower their prices," Krugman said.
But shop early or risk the item you want selling out.
To keep overhead and operating costs low, many retailers are ordering a lot less inventory than usual.
