RETAIL SUPPORT BRIGADE UPDATE: Bill Hobbs is blogging from the Comcast kiosk at the mall near Nashville and reports that business seems slow there, too.

I have to say, that sort of on-the-scene reportage is kind of cool.

UPDATE: Reader Frank Martin writes:

I don’t know where these malls are that are empty, but out here in northern California, our Mall ( roseville galleria ) has been closed twice this week by the fire marshalls due to overcrowding. ( not closed “per se”, but they limited access at the doors to make sure that the crowds stayed limited to within the structures limit)

Today, the “best buy’ had every register open, yet the lines extended past the back of the store. Link.

This is happening while we are in the midst of a series of very large storms.

Keep buying folks, the economy depends on you.