Santa Skipping Wal-Mart?

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Are things really so bad as this? Last week, market watchers everywhere began predicting a big dose of holiday humbug based on the disappointing same-store sales at one little retailer. OK, so Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) isn't so little. But does it make any sense to try to predict the early winter weather for all retailers based on what happens at Sam's house?

Sure, Wal-Mart's comps for November are predicted to come in at a measly 0.7%, well below the 2-4% the Street had been expecting, based on management's hopes earlier in the month. But as much as it may sometimes seem otherwise, there are other places for shoppers to spend their hard-earned bucks. Reports from credit-card companies and other retailers suggest that overall, holiday shoppers have already spent 10-15% more than last year.

In other words, don't judge the world according to Wal-Mart. As I pointed out here, only a few lower-end retailers have been able to deliver any kind of meaningful sales growth lately. On the other hand, higher-end goods at luxury and specialty retailers have seen much more robust sales gains. Take a look at the action at places such as Coach (NYSE: COH) and Tiffany & Co. That doesn't mean that upscale retailers will be the only beneficiaries over the next few months.

Investors looking for clues as to who else may benefit this holiday season might want to read a little further down the press release to see what kind of goods are moving at Wal-Mart. Atop the blitz list: digital cameras, which should be good news for companies such as Canon, Lexar (Nasdaq: LEXR), and SanDisk (Nasdaq: SNDK). Also strong were learning toys -- think of LeapFrog (NYSE: LF). And, of course, the annual pop in video-game sales may juice sales all the way up the food chain from Electronics Boutique (Nasdaq: ELBO) to Electronic Arts (Nasdaq: ERTS).

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• Wondering what's wrong at Wal-Mart? Discuss it on our popular Foolish board. (Free trial required.)

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Seth Jayson loves shopping for stocks even more than shopping for stuff. At the time of publication, he owned shares of SanDisk but had no positions in any other firm mentioned. View his Fool profile here.