Photograph of a post-Christmas sale at a NJ store by Mel Evans/AP

Holidays sales data has been grim, as the International Council of Shopping Centers expects "sales at established stores" to fall 1.5-2% this November and December ("the weakest holiday season since at least 1969" according to the AP) and, per credit card data, retail sales are down 5.5-8% versus last year. CNBC reports, "It took massive discounts, longer store hours and promotional giveaways to even get shoppers to the mall this season. Still that last minute rush could not save stores from double-digit sales declines across virtually every category." And while online sales did well, with consumers looking for bargains, they were still down 2.3%.

Today, retailers are offering big discounts (Filene's Basement is touting discounts up to 90%) in hopes of last-minute help for their bottom lines—they even opened their doors up at 5:30, 6:00 a.m. The NY Post spoke to one tourist from Miami who specifically came to Manhattan for bargains: "We're shopping, shopping, shopping, getting the sales - at Saks, Macy's." Though many gift card recipients head to stores to redeem them today, others heading to stores may be returning their gifts!

Let's just hope shoppers aren't as crazy as they were post-Thanksgiving Black Friday.