1.   And on-line retailers are seeing big increases in sales -- though not, as yet, profits.

2.   But if the retailers see big gains this year, then their customers may be buying more in less time.

3.   But many retailers still see the day as a gauge for the rest of the season.

4.   Catalogue retailers may see the most benefit from falling paper prices, which were hit last year by a troika of troubles.

5.   CompUSA Inc. also said last week that it bullish on the outlook for the fourth quarter and the retailer is seeing robust demand.

6.   During the same period, many publicly traded retailers have seen their stock shares fall.

7.   German retailers have seen sales fall or grow only slightly for the past five years.

8.   Home-improvement retailers have seen sales and profit fall recently amid a depressed U.K. housing market.

9.   Ifo said Western German retailers saw little room to raise prices and doubt business will pick up in the next six months.

10.   In fact, several big retailers have seen traffic to their Web sites double since October, said Christopher Vroom, an analyst with Thomas Weisel Partners.