1.   Every year the Christmas shopping season seems to start earlier, a fact which many people find hard to stomach.

2.   When the holiday shopping season began, experts predicted a strong season for retailers.

3.   Prices are expected to flatten after the holiday shopping season.

4.   The department stores were loaded with goods for the holiday shopping season.

5.   Also, Americans flocked to stores and malls last weekend, signaling that the holiday shopping season may heat up the economy in coming months.

6.   Americans already owe a lot on the eve of the Christmas shopping season.

7.   An important gauge of future Fed action will be spending during the holiday shopping season, which traditionally gets into full swing around Thanksgiving.

8.   Analysts have said books were among the strongest sellers during the otherwise disappointing holiday shopping season.

9.   Analysts said the difference between the two quarters reflected the extremely high costs of subsidizing millions of new mobile phones during the Christmas shopping season.

10.   And retailers are reporting livelier sales following the dismal Christmas shopping season.