After all the fanfare that accompanied the post-Thanksgiving holiday sales kick off, the retail industry has now settled into another annual tradition, the waiting game. 
    In this game of chicken, consumers wait to see how much retailers discount goods to get them in the stores while retailers hope consumers are spurred to action by concerns that the item they want may be sold out before they come to buy it.
    “Because Christmas falls on a Monday this year, shoppers may be postponing purchases for a final-weekend spree,” Bain & Co. consultants wrote in their latest holiday spending newsletter.
     Morgan Stanley analysts said in a report on Monday that its holiday shopping survey, which was conducted in late November, predicts a stronger holiday season than November sales indicated.
    But industry consultant Britt Beemer on Sunday cut his expectations for same store sales to a 2.7 percent increase this holiday season from a 3.1 percent increase. The move marked only the fourth time in 20 years that Beemer, chairman and founder of America’s Research Group, has changed his forecast during the holiday season.
    In an exclusive survey for Reuters, America’s Research Group also found that almost 40 percent of people said if they do not see 50 percent off promotions this season they will buy fewer gifts, buy less expensive ones, or buy gift cards instead.
    What do you think? Are you waiting for big discounts before you shop? And how big do the discounts have to be?