求一篇金融危机对零售业影响的英语文献，谢谢

dina powell has long wanted to put down new carpet in her stafford,va.,home and update the flooring in her kitchen.but a family budget tightened by a precarious economy has changed her home-improvement plans.
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i'm putting those things off,"powell said wednesday in the pa**ng lot of the wal-mart in the kingstowne nei**orhood in nearby alexandria,as she loaded her car with dryer sheets and cards and wrapping ** purchased for her son's sixth birthday party."i'm just getting the essentials.
as the stock market crumbled and experts and lawmakers debated the effects of a massive financial bailout bill,many americans spent these past 30 days anxious to find out how wall street's troubles would trickle down.today the ra**ussen consumer index reported a record low in consumer confidence,falling to 65.5,down 21 points from a month ago,and down nearly 40 points from th** time last year.high(though dropping)gas prices,r**ing costs for food and basic household goods and the constriction of credit **ailability are all taking a toll on american purchasing routines.
i used to go all the time,"powell said of her shopping trips to wal-mart and other big-box retailers."if i needed one thing,i'd run out to buy it.but now i go just once a week.i wait for things to pile up.everything seems so expensive.
for retail giant wal-mart,daily d**counts and low-price merchand**e h**e kept shoppers coming back despite the new strain on their wallets.in its september sales report,released tuesday,wal-mart noted a 2.8%growth in sales at its u.s.stores since the same month last year.bargains are,in fact,the main reason the long lines and he**y in-store a**le traffic h**en't kept terry fife of alexandria from abandoning h** weekly trips to the kingstowne store."wal-mart ** not exactly a place i look forward to shopping at,"fife said wednesday,walking across the pa**ng lot on h** lunch break with a box of milk duds in hand.
but for other,pricier retailers,the economic crunch has stunted sales growth.at target corp.,another major d**count retailer,a company report released wednesday revealed that same-store september sales in several departments had weakened since the same month last year:decorative home and garden,women's apparel and jewelry and accessories.the total decrease in comparable store sales was 3%."sales for the month of september were below our expectations,reflecting continued daily volatility,"president and ceo gregg steinhafel said in the report.
home depot,the world's largest home-improvement retailer,also reported revenue loss.its sales for the f**cal 2008 second quarter totaled$21 billion,a 5.4%decrease from the same time a year earlier.a spoke**an for home depot would not comment wednesday on sales in the past 40 days.
owners of independent hardware stores say the market pressure might actually be wo**ng in their f**or."when you're buying$1,000 worth of things,it's worth it to go to home depot,"says todd pfeiffer,owner of pfeiffer's hardware store in the mount pleasant nei**orhood of northwest washington,d.c."here,it's about convenience."with fewer people furn**hing new homes given the current housing cr****,says pfeiffer,they are likely to need"bits and pieces"for **aller fix-it projects.that brings them to their local hardware store.
gina schaefer and mark friedman,a hu**and and wife who own five ace hardware stores throughout washington and baltimore,note that in a time when few people want to move,paint and garden products continue to sell well."the greatest way to freshen up a room ** to change the paint,"she says,noting that sales are pretty cons**tent across the merchand**e board.schaefer adds that a new admin**tration,with an influx of new residents to the d**trict,will likely yield consumers looking to spruce up their new homes.
but for kathy whitaker,owner of a **all home-improvement business,money ** tighter now than it has been in a while."lots of customers are cutting back"on the pricey design and décor changes planned for their houses,instead opting for **aller projects or abandoning their plans altogether,she says.that means some of the updates she wants to make on her own home h**e been thrown off track.
i h**e a house that's a work in progress.every time you turn around,there's something else we need to do,"says whitaker,of springfield,va.,as she pulls bags of cat food and bottles of motor oil from her wal-mart shopping cart."but we definitely h**e to watch what we buy now.we're only buying things we really need,and we're trying to consolidate and do all our shopping in one trip to s**e on gas.
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,**,00.html