http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/apr2008/byronm412.htm
 
My husband also has worked in retail almost all our entire marriage.  We have been married 38 years and so 30 years he worked retail.  He was manager of department stores.
 
Everything you have described is what business do to try and cut expenses and stay afloat.  Bankruptcy is just around the corner.  I say that because two of the stores he worked for did the exact same things and they both went bankrupt.
 
The sad part is that they were on the Stock Exchange and so top management salaries for these companies, (Pres., VP, Board of Directors, etc.) were made public.  Each of them were pulling in 1 million or 1/2 million dollars or some just a little less.  While cutting the hourly employees wages.  Customers got angry because they couldn't find anyone on the floor to help them.  So then you lose those customers.  By the time it gets this bad, they probably will file bankruptcy.
 
One of the chains closed completely but the other did that thing where they regroup or something and open back up.  Forgot the name of that type of bankruptcy.
 
I don't know about them "knowing" anymore about the economy except they probably have expert financial advisors warning them the future looks bleak on top of their own financial problems.  When you don't see any customers buying anything...you know the store is big trouble.