It is the holiday season in New York City. Thanksgiving is over, the decorations are up on Fifth Avenue and the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Plaza has been lit – this year with energy-efficient light-emitting diodes rather than the traditional lightbulbs. All that remains is for New Yorkers to spend money.

To shop in New York this year, however, is to hear a rich array of European accents. In Bloomingdale’s the other day, two French women were debating the quality of Ralph Lauren towels. As I crossed Avenue of the Americas this week, I heard a British family complaining about the eggs they had for breakfast.