Are U.S. retailers more frantic to make sales than ever this year?

I live in a rural area, and do a lot of business through the mail. Every online mail order retailer I have ever done business with has been stuffing my mailbox (both in real life and online) with offers, coupons, sales… you name it.

A couple have even made sales calls to my home number “just to let you know about our special bargains.”

And this morning, December 25th, I’ve gotten a flood of “after-Christmas sales” offers.

Even though I know that most of them depend on the end-of-the-year period to make up a significant portion of the year’s transactions, I can’t recall a year when the sales approaches seemed more frantic.

Has the retail sector gotten out of recession? Or are they in more trouble than ever?
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