Attendance is down here at CES by 8% compared to last year. From the presenters I've been speaking to, the problem is WHO is not here -– not how many fewer attendees there are.
There is no shortage of companies here trying to sell you on the hottest new gadget, but there seems to be a real shortage of buyers to scoop them up.
Where's Wal-Mart (WMT)? How about Best Buy (BBY)? Those are the companies who usually send representatives here to find the newest gadgets to sell in their stores. From what I'm hearing, those are the no-shows this year. And that's not good news for the consumer electronics industry.