Another thermometer dipped in the Columbia economy
A correspondent writes:
On Saturday afternoon and I my wife stopped off at Columbia Mall to buy a piece of carryon luggage that was on sale at at Macys. I was astounded -- the place looked like Christmas week in a good year. It took us 10 minutes to find a parking space, and when we did, it was at the opposite end of the Mall. So we walked from one end to the other and the place was jammed with shoppers. A lot of them seemed to be carrying bags, so it wasn't just sighseers.
I realize that the Howard County economy is not the metro Baltimore economy. How about reports from Baltimore city and the county? How's traffic at restaurants/ stores there?
Comments
AA county seems to be thriving as well - at 7:30 pm on Saturday Outback Steakhouse in Glen Burnie had over one hour wait time. There was no parking at Arundel Mills mall and the restaurants there had long lines as well. Where is the recession?
Posted by: Jelena | February 2, 2009 2:29 PM
Anecdotal evidence of a single instance at a shopping mall is probably the worst possible economic indicator. If people are only buying things on sale, then retail sales could be way down, stores losing money and the malls extremely crowded.
And Jelena, the recession is at the houses of the unemployed, which is set to hit new cycle highs on Friday.
Posted by: WillClark4HOF | February 4, 2009 1:06 PM