MALVEAUX: It's Boxing Day in the U.K., Canada and several other countries. A fitting name, right? Kind of like Black Friday in the United States. Retailers cut their prices hoping to entice shoppers to look for a good deal willing to spend their holiday cash. Look at them, they're just running. Analysts expect that British shoppers are going to spend almost $5 billion today. In the U.S., not good news for retailers. Early figures showing that it's the worst holiday sales performance in three years. Alison Kosik, she's at the New York Stock Exchange. Alison, why so bad this year?</s>ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, you know, the fiscal cliff issues were hanging on shoppers' minds. That's one reason. But, you know, you look at whether or not the after Christmas shopping is going to help. It will in some ways. You know, in many ways, though, people are walking into stores today using gift cards. In fact, the National Retail Federation says that 80 percent of shoppers bought a gift card. That's almost $30 billion worth. And the thing is, those are counted when they're initially sold, not when they're redeemed. But if you're a retailer, most people wind up spending more when they're in the store.
Worst Holiday Sales in Three Years