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It's getting rough out there for retailers. Sales at Neiman Marcus plunged 28 percent in October, and business was down 17 percent at Saks compared to the same month a year ago. This explains why if you've gone shopping recently, you may have noticed the salespeople get a little aggressive when you walked in the front door. You thought those "Can I help you with that?" interruptions were bad before? Just wait until the saleswoman at the overpriced Nolita boutique is having trouble paying the rent on her Williamsburg apartment because she's not collecting any commissions.

One shopper says he "felt like a piece of meat being fought over by jackals" when he went into a store recently. "You used to have to fight for attention, and now they're fighting over you, making suggestions—even if they're not really welcome." Says another: "They kept me in there like 30 minutes. One lady greeted me, then another [started trying to sell] me other products, like cologne, and then there was another woman behind the counter who was there to say nice things and also offer me stuff. I wanted to say, 'Hey, beat it.'"

At this rate—and with gun purchases on the rise—don't be too surprised when you hear blood was spilled over a cashmere sweater sometime between now and Christmas.

Clothes shopping: The new extreme sport? [Men.Style.com]