New seasonal fashions brought out many apparel shoppers beating our sales expectations for some specialty apparel retailers. Overall, the industry is getting better at fixing short-term merchandising missteps, and October's cooler weather certainly brought out favorable reaction from many shoppers.

Our recent visits to some stores indicate better controls over displays, clutter, and shelf appearance, necessary steps to stabilize store aesthetics in support of their apparel initiatives.

Consumers have a way of pulling it together for the holidays. We could see weakness in apparel and footwear sales but electronics, entertainment products and gift cards could do very well in the fourth quarter.

Consumers are benefiting from a combination of tax stimulus, new products, good apparel fashions and compelling prices.