Retailers that do a poor job satisfying customers in these last days leading up to Christmas can bear the brunt of shoppers' frustrations in the future. Consumers hold their retailer accountable for not meeting their needs and this will impact their future shopping choices.

The challenge is that this drop in satisfaction can have longer-term consequences because it impacts likelihood to return, and to recommend, which can depress long-term sales potential.

We attribute the drop in satisfaction to the challenges that time-pressured shoppers face as they turn to the Web for last-minute shopping needs, only to be disappointed and frustrated with their inability to find what they're looking for. Reasons can range from merchandise that is out of stock online, or they aren't using the correct description.

The kids played hard coming off Christmas break. Mitch Frei did a great job leading the team.

We believe poor recent results and management changes are leading to internal rethinking of [Wal-Mart's] aggressive deflationary pricing strategies, which we believe will lead to better gross margins in 2004, while still reducing prices.

We believe poor recent results and management changes are leading to internal rethinking of [Wal-Mart's] aggressive deflationary pricing strategies, which we believe will lead to better gross margins in 2004, while still reducing prices,