How much loot did the stores make this Christmas?

Apparently we aren't greedy enough, we're shopping online, and we like gift cards too much:

"ShopperTrak RCT Corp., which tracks total sales at more than 45,000 retail outlets, reported that sales for the week ended Saturday increased 5.2 percent over the year-ago period. Foot traffic fell a slight 1.3 percent during that same period, indicating that shoppers were making bigger purchases with fewer trips, according to Bill Martin, co-founder of ShopperTrak.Much of last week’s strength was from Friday and Saturday,though the finale wasn’t as strong as hoped for. As a result, Martin believes that total holiday sales will probably not meet the 5 percent growth forecast, though holiday sales growth will be at least 4.5 percent."

Just a note, the stores make a lot of money off of gift cards that are never redeemed, or partially used. I just used my Barnes and Noble card, leaving only $1.53 left on the card. The clerk could not give me the remainder in cash. The stores count on many people tossing the card, not caring to worry about every penny.