Goodwill Stores Expecting a Big Christmas Sales Season, Other Stores Not So Optimistic

The Obama administration continues to tell us we are on the right path and the economy is getting better. However, signs all over the place tell a different story. Perhaps, the holiday season will give insight to just how bad it is. With the official holiday season just a few weeks away, one store is seeing an increase in traffic while others are worried.

(AP) The Goodwill store in this middle-class New York suburb is buzzing on a recent weekend afternoon. A steady flow of shoppers comb through racks filled with second-hand clothes, shoes, blankets and dishes.

A few years ago, opening a Goodwill store here wouldn't have made sense. Paramus is one of the biggest ZIP codes in the country for retail sales. Shoppers have their pick of hundreds of respected names like Macy's and Lord &Taylor along this busy highway strip.

But in the wake of the Great Recession, the stigma attached to certain consumer behavior has fallen away. What some people once thought of as lowbrow, they now accept -- even consider a frugal badge of honor.

Americans are also using layaway more, which means credit cards are being used less. As well, shoppers aren't being picky about brand names either. These are all symbols of just how tough things have gotten in Obama's economy.

"The old stigmas are the new realities," says Emanuel Weintraub, a New York-based retail consultant. "Now, people don't have a problem saying, 'I can't afford it.' It's a sign of strength."