JOIE CHEN, CNN ANCHOR: Down in Florida, retailers are counting on a boost from holiday sales. We let CNN's Charles Zewe go out to do a little shopping of his own in the Miami area today -- Charles.</s>CHARLES ZEWE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Been working today, Joie, not shopping yet. You can see it looks like the sights of the season: a choir out here in the Aventura Mall. This is one of the busiest malls in the United States. But retailers here are making wishes that have nothing to do with Santa. Like malls and shopping centers throughout the United States, retailers are reporting an increase of about 2 1/2 percent in the Miami-Dade area in sales over last year, but that is far from what they had hoped for in the 6 to 7 percent range. There are lots of sales out, 50, 60, 70 percent in some cases, as stores here, retailers, hoping for a big, final surge of shopping. Shoppers drawn into these malls and into these stores by these sales. Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Tucker (ph) joining us now. Wayne is a construction worker. You told me that you are spending less this year. Why?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why? Because the kids are older and I'm buying more clothes than toys, so I'm saving more money.</s>ZEWE: How about you, Wayne? Are you worried about the future, about the economy, about keeping your job?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes, every day. Prices going up, money's getting shorter.</s>ZEWE: Has that affected you in terms of Christmas buying, what you're buying, the presents that you are purchasing?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it's affected me a little, bit but not as much.</s>ZEWE: "A little bit, but not as much." That's what you're hearing from a lot of people, that people are slowly scaling back. But across the country, that ripple effect is having dramatic impact on retail sales in this Christmas shopping season that account for a major part of the revenues that retailers across the country bring in. Charles Zewe, CNN, live, Aventura, Florida.
Retailers Hoping for Holiday Buying Binge