Americans have the cash.
http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/cbuil...ker1=MZM%3AIND
About 9.4 trillions of it. All cash, deposits and money market accounts (money at zero maturity). A record high that can buy the entire SP500. Poor sales must be caused by something else, like a deep consumer strike that is lifted for specific services/goods only. Under this mood, there is no way americans will spend on something they can have for free. They spend ONLY when there is no substitution.