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Britt Beemer America's Research Group articles most recent first Furniture Buying Index Falls in May Consumers Shift Spending To What They Need, Not What They Want Furniture Buying Index Drops Two More Points; Wal Mart Expands Home Furnishings In Midst of Sluggish Furniture Sales Beemer - Many Retailers In Free Fall After Disappointing December August Retail Sales Surge; Home Furnishings, Accessories Lag behind Expert Predicts Back-to-School Spending to Grow Meagerly in 2007 Retail Shopping Takes A Holiday Early Indications Are For A Frugal First Quarter Independent Retailers Outperformed Chain Stores In December Britt Beemer Lowers Forecast of Christmas Retail Sales to 2.7% Rise Over Last Year; Lack of “Must Have” Item to Blame Want To Drive Shoppers Away? Decorate Stores Less and Don’t Say “Merry Christmas” 2006 Q4 Shoppers Study Revealing; Cyber Monday a Hoax, Biggest Retail Push Will Be After December 15th 10 Trends For Retail Christmas 2006 Survey; Parents Cite High Gas Prices As Primary Reason For Limiting Back To School Spending Families Reduce Summer Spending As Gas Prices Rise Or Was It? New Survey Casts Doubt On Rosie Black Friday Survey; Bargain Hunters Drive June Results Top 10 Retail Stores For April; Discounts Drive Traffic Survey Says Americans Extremely Optimist About The Future 37% Of Shoppers Noticed Less Christmas Decorations In Stores; Spent Less As A Result America’s Research Group; Shopping Levels Increasing But Still Expected To Be Lackluster 3.2% Over 2003 Lack Of Hot New Product Weighing Heavily On Holiday Shopping Survey Of Thanksgiving Weekend Shoppers; "We're Not Impressed"; 45% Say Discounts Not Enough Britt Beemer’s Christmas 2004 Sales Forecast; 19% Will Spend More Since Bush Was Reelected Seven Things Your Store’s Appearance Tells Your Customers Britt Beemer Cites Convenience As Key To Drawing Male Shoppers Beemer Lowers Christmas Sales Projection to 4.2% Increase This Year Compared To His Earlier 4.8% Sales Increase survey 31.0% of Americans Who Planned to Shop Thanksgiving Weekend Did Not Get Around To It Study Shows 11% Increase In Consumer Spending For Appliance, Electronics, Computers Britt Beemer Predicts 4.8% Increase In Holiday Spending survey Furniture Leads All Categories For Shopping Levels Over Labor Day Weekend survey Consumers Plan to Spend 10% More on Back to School Furniture Buying Index Up One Point Buying furniture is on consumers’ minds, but not a top priority Shopping Is Not a Big Priority for Many Americans The Incredible Shrinking Customer Base How Loyal is Your Customer? The Loyalty American Consumers Have Towards Brand Products

Over half of consumers (21.0% very much and 32.0% some) are bothered when stores avoid using “Merry Christmas” in their stores and in their signage.

Shoppers are cautiously getting into the Christmas spirit so long as that spirit is deeply discounted. According to the first 2006 Christmas survey conducted by America’s Research Group (ARG), C. Britt Beemer, founder and CEO of ARG, said that sales should increase at a 3.1% level this year. “Retailers that give shoppers strong price incentives and decorate for the Christmas holiday should do well this year,” Beemer said. He pinpointed ten important trends for Christmas 2006:

1. Over half of consumers (21.0% very much and 32.0% some) are bothered when stores avoid using “Merry Christmas” in their stores and in their signage.

2. More consumers are entertaining in their homes this Christmas with 28.1% saying “more” compared to 24.8% saying “more” last year. Also, consumer spending on Christmas decorations in the price range of $101-$250 has gone from 6.5% to 18.3% this year.

3. Nearly as many shoppers believe 60% off sales are genuine (73.0%) compared to the 77.9% who believe 50% off is a genuine sale.

4. Retailers promoting big ticket items during their early-bird specials should be packed this year, because 65.1% of consumers say they will buy at early-bird specials compared to 46.8% last year.

5. The number of shoppers avoiding stores where they are short-handed has jumped up to 64.0% this year compared to 50.6% last year.

6. An all time high for service gifts with 12.4% giving them this year compared to the 9.4% previous high last year.

7. Consumers will be much more influenced by retailer advertising with 36.2% stating this heightened awareness this year compared to 32.0% last year.

8. Shoppers will be going to enclosed malls “less” this year at a 25.9% level—the highest “less” level since Christmas 2001 when 30.6% said “less” after the September 11th attack.

9. More shoppers (70.4%) will try to avoid the weekend crowds by shopping more during the week and during the weekday if at all possible. This 70.4% is the highest level over the last 10 years with Christmas, 2003 the previous high at 68.4%.

10. The biggest jump in price range of Christmas gifts is in the $36-$50 range going from 30.8% last year to 35.5% and the biggest drop is in the $21-$25 price range going from 18.6% last year to 12.5% this Christmas season.

ARG surveyors interviewed 1,000 adults between Wednesday and Friday, November 8-10, 2006.