Luxury Retailers' Pain Is Your Gain This Season

As the nation's economy suffers, analysts expect this year's holiday shopping season to be the worst in a quarter century, with many retailers likely to suffer double-digit drops in sales. But what is bad for the industry might very well be good for you.

"Upper-tier stores will have a very slow season, which will have a significant consumer impact," says Craig Johnson, president of Customer Growth Partners, a consulting firm in New Canaan, Conn. "In many ways, it will be a very promotional environment. A lot of luxury goods that normally wouldn't go on sale, already are."

Indeed, it's not just the discount retailers like Wal-Mart (WMT) and Target (TGT) that are offering bargain deals. Luxury, too, can be yours at more affordable prices.

Here are some items to check out.

Luxury Vehicles

Now that gas prices have dropped below $2 a gallon in many places across the country, why not spend your money on a proper vehicle to carry you from place to place. Of course, there isn't any better time to buy American, as Detroit and The Big Three Automakers face bankruptcy.

Year-end is always the best time to find a good price on a car anyway, and this year, that reality is magnified. General Motors (GM) kicked off its annual Red Tag Sale a week early this year, offering all sorts of deals.

Cadillac is featuring fixed-price deals on its signature vehicles, the CTS Sedan and the Escalade. The 2008 Cadillac Escalade Ultra Luxury Collection, for example, which has a $69,515 base MSRP (manufacturer suggested retail price), is being advertised more than $12,000 less. Next year's CTS Sedans are marked more than $6,000 below MSRP.

Cadillac Escalade is on sale now.