It sure is hard to tell - hold prices up a bit to make up for lost sales quantity, or slash prices to keep things flowing at a greatly reduced, even slightly negative, profit margin.
I bet we'll see major slashes if the economic trend continues, though I wonder if it will hit us before Christmas. It would make for a better inventory flow if it were done before Christmas, however most retailers would prefer the slashing be post Christmas as not to interefer with what will likely be predetermined buying budgets and profit margins due to anticipated CHristmas demand.
All we need is a big player, or enough small players, to jump the gun and they could start a pricing chain reaction that could easily get us unbelievable deals this Christmas. That's what I would opt for, as my budget for Christmas is already determined and will not involve any credit cards. However, if somebody jumps the gun on slashing prices I may just up the budget and even break out a small chunk on the credit cards...but they have to be major slashes and before Christmas. | 
