Retailers aren’t as panicked about the upcoming holiday shopping season as they were last year.

With this scenario in mind, retail experts said their No. 1 tip for gift shoppers this year is grab what you want, when you see it.

“Merchants got burned badly last year when they were left with a lot of unsold merchandise after Christmas,” said George Whalin, retail expert and president and CEO of Retail Management Consultants.

There is a different feel about holiday shopping this year than last year. Retailers have discovered a new normal, which means more sparsely stocked shelves and a high rate of unemployment. If people are unemployed, they may be less likely to spend a lot for Christmas or other holiday gifts.

This news shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who has been shopping lately. Remember a couple of years ago when the credit was flowing freely and the choices on the shelves and racks were seemingly endless. Those days are temporarily gone in some places. The only stores that seem to offer more choices are places that cater to crafts and home entertainment since more people are entertaining themselves with crafts and staying home to watch movies.

Since there are fewer items that retailers will offer for sale and will probably have only a limited amount of the “hottest” items available, then it will difficult to get those bargains. This seems hard to believe considering the number of coupons that I currently have and receive regularly that I would actually make purchases from those stores.

Prudent choices when shopping and budgeting before going Christmas shopping makes a big difference especially when paying cash. For people who are really sticking to a budget making the decision to buy one item whether it is the “hot” gift of the season or not will make a greater difference to individuals but to retailers it might. To really stick to a shopping budget giving someone a gift card or cash will help a person not go over budget. Unless you can find a particular item that you know the recipient will love for less than you have budgeted… move on until you find something they will really enjoy and use.

More unemployment, fewer jobs, less cash to go around. Pundits discussing the economy say that the economy wouldn’t recover until people started buying things again. Maybe a better way to recover would be to start making things that people (not necessarily only Americans) want to buy. When people are employed there are opportunities for people to buy things – even if they are just buying the necessities.

There are some things to consider. Since there are fewer people traveling to work, there is a decreased need for gasoline and therefore the prices are lower.

Reduced prices, bargain hunting and cost cutting are becoming the new norm. When profits are decreased it makes it difficult to hire new employees who can contribute to the economy.

Even if the official jobless rate were at 3% there would still be people who are struggling because not everyone is counted in the unemployment numbers. Not having a means to earn money makes a difference to people who see all of the bargains and deals that can be had, but are still somewhat unattainable.

When you have no money but the prices are cheap, that won’t help you if you can’t afford what you really need.

A recent trip to the Print Outlets in a small town in Illinois showed me two things. There were a lot of empty stores even at the outlet mall and outlet pricing isn’t always such a great deal. In one store I overheard a lady saying to a coworker – why are they sending these thing s here if they have been discontinued? The reply from her co-worker – they have no place else to send them.

In another store there were three different prices for a bag in the same style. One was on sale because of the color, another was the regular price and yet another was discounted even further. The salesman in the store was asked about the prices on the bags and he said corporate sets the prices and makes it difficult for him. Because the black bag was the most expensive, the ivory one was at a clearance price and the dark brown bag was still another price… he and the store lost the sale.

Both scenarios show that outlet stores aren’t always high end merchandise. A few stores still use their outlet or factory stores for imperfect or discontinued merchandise though it is possible to get a great deal at different stores checking for imperfections and prices. It might be possible for an employee to offer you a discount at an outlet store but not very likely that you will get the deal that you want.

The discount may be elusive at an outlet mall and may not offer discounts like you may find at TJ Maxx, Marshall’s or A.J. Wright. Since most outlet malls are on the periphery of large cities, making the trip to one might be a nice outing but don’t always expect to find such great deals.