At U.S. shopping centers, parking lots were full - as thousands of last minute shoppers descended into crowded malls.But the big crowds mask larger concerns. Consumer confidence has fallen to a 6-month low, and retailers say shoppers don't seem to be spending as much.Dana Mattioli covers retail trends at the Wall Street Journal. "All the retailers are in panic mode. It hasn't been a great holiday season," she said.But if flagging consumer confidence worries retailers, shoppers say they have other things on their minds.In Greece, despite the festive decorations - the issue is not confidence but economic reality.After six years of recession, Greeks expect even tougher austerity measures in the New Year.So while shoppers in Athens look at the brightly decorated shop windows, few carry shopping bags.One Greek pensioner says, after rent and food, there's just no money left."Nothing, the economic hardships are so great that we cannot afford to buy anything," said George Manikas.In Spain, where unemployment is 26 percent, shop owners are dropping food prices to tempt consumers.But Emilio Perez, a butcher, says customers have less money to spend."We are selling between 20 percent and 30 percent less than last year. The purchasing power people had has been taken away from them, and we can all feel that very clearly," he said.
在美国的一些购物中心，停车场里停满了车。很多人在圣诞节的最后一刻赶着购物，商场里到处人头攒动。不过，拥挤的假象掩盖了一个更大的问题，那就是，消费者信心降低到六个月以来的最低点。零售商们说，消费者花的钱并不多。达娜.马蒂奥利是《华尔街日报》报道零售新闻的记者。她说：“很多零售商很恐慌，这个假期的销售都不怎么样。”如果说，下降的消费者信心指数令商家担忧，消费者们却有其他的担忧。在希腊，节日的装点随处可见。在这里，人们担心的不是消费者信心，而是严峻的经济现实。连续六年的经济衰退后，这个新年，希腊可能面临更加严峻的经济紧缩措施。因此，在雅典，很多人只是看着装饰一新的商店橱窗，但是，很少有人拎着购物袋。这位领取养老金的希腊人说，在交过房租和购买食物后，他基本上没有什么钱剩下了。他说：“什么也没了，经济太困难，我们基本上什么也买不起。”西班牙目前的失业率是26%。店主们降低食品的价格希望吸引消费者。埃米里奥.佩雷兹是卖肉的，他说，消费者可消费的钱更少了。他说：“与去年相比，我们的销售要少了20%到30%。消费者的购买力被夺去了，我们能很清楚地感受到的。”
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