Consumers are struggling to stretch their budgets, control their credit cards and make their mortgage payments. But one of the retail industry's big lures for shoppers this spring and summer will be a cascade of the most non-essential products possible, all spun from movies such as "Speed Racer" and the long-awaited fourth installment of "Indiana Jones."
The merchandise is coming in an array of forms, ranging from T-shirts and trading cards to glitzy electronic toys and artsy statuettes. The target audience is kids of all ages _ including grown-up kids _ as well as a variety of collectors, video game fans, film buffs and trend junkies. Basically, almost everybody.
Many of the products are about to arrive in shelf-stuffing batches because May features the release of four consecutive pop-culture flicks: The comic book-based "Iron Man" on May 2, the anime-rooted "Speed Racer" on May 9, "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" on May 16 and "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" on May 22.
Doesn't that suggest competitive suicide, especially when the economy resembles one of Indiana Jones' dreaded snake pits?
Not necessarily, according to a variety of observers.
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