It is three years into a really bad economy, yet according to Black Friday/Cyber Monday retail sales figures, people are spending more. Is it the lure of everything being on sale — 30, 40, 50 percent off? What role have smartphones and other gadgets like Square played in helping us part ways with our cash?

Yeah, sure, ’tis the season to shop, but there are factors at play today that really haven’t been present during holiday pasts so how are shoppers and retailers navigating through it all?

Kai and the Marketplace crew headed down to the Citadel Outlet Mall in Commerce to find out. Check out pictures from the live broadcast in our slideshow above. And visit the full episode page to listen to individual segments from the broadcast.