Last week, Moreschini was with friends and her daughter looking for deals at FlatIron hknsc Crossing mall. They had traveled from Pueblo earlier in the day for a visit to their favorite "high-end" mall.

The group makes the trek every year, but this trip was proving better than usual. They were finding steep discounts and plenty of good stuff on the shelves. Best of all, there were no crowds.hknsc

What's good for shoppers like Moreschini is bad newsfor the retail industry.

"I think they are kind of nervous," Moreschini said. "They've got a lot of merchandise to get rid of, and they are scared to death."

Retailers put a braver face on it, but the assessment is accurate.hknsc

"It's definitely a buyer's year," said Heather Drake, senior marketing manager at FlatIron Crossing.

The picture doesn't look to be improving with the approach of "Black Friday," the day after Thanksgiving and the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season.

To mark the event, stores such as Macy's are marking down items by as much as 50 hknsc percent. Macy's at FlatIron Crossing will open at 5 a.m., and it will be joined by Dick's Sporting Goods and Old Navy.

By 8 a.m., all stores at the mall will have opened their doors.

According to legend, Black Friday is the busiest shopping day of the year and the day when stores start showing a profit. Those are myths, Drake said. The Saturday before Christmas has eclipsed Black Friday as the busiest day of the year, but the psychological importance is still real.hknsc

Retailers face what could be the worst holiday shopping season in years. The National Retail Federation, the industry's trade group, said sales decreased by .5 percent in October. Many stores started offering their holiday deals earlier, but that hasn't seemed to help. The industry is hoping shoppers are waiting for the biggest deals.

"No one is canceling Christmas because money is tight, but consumers will be sticking to their budgets and looking for good deals when deciding where to spend this holiday season," said NRF president and CEO Tracy Mullin.hknsc

That didn't come as news to shoppers at FlatIron Crossing last week.

Rebecca Winter, of Boulder, was at the mall with her daughter and granddaughter. They planned on dramatically cutting their spending.hknsc

"There's not a chance we're coming even close," Winter said when asked if she'll spend as much as in years past. She predicts her family will spend less than half the amount it did last year.

Overall, the National Retail Federation predicts consumer spending will increase only 1.9 percent from last year, but that increase is deceiving. If the NRF's estimate is accurate, it will be the worst year-to-year increase since the group began making annual holiday forecasts in 2002. It also predicts shoppers will spend less on gifts for family members than they did last year, a trend that is unprecedented in its research.hknsc