Results for articles with tag 'frugality' (2 total)
11/22/2010 10:19:28 AM 
According to a recent survey from Booz Allen Hamilton, frugality is here to stay, at least for a while.
"..companies need to work to understand the essence of these changes by consumer segment, and adjust offerings accordingly. Reverting to business as usual is not an option because many of the self-reported changes in consumer behavior, even among wealthy consumers, appear to be sticky. The frugal consumer is here to stay."
BAH found spending on categories like consumer electronics and apparel and shoes to be significantly impacted.
65% of consumers stated they spent less on consumer electronics in the past 12 months and 21% expected to spend even less in the next 12.
For apparel and shoes- 55% of consumers stated they spent less over the past 12 months and 21% plan to spend even less in 2011.
The consultants suggest in their report some kind of explosion in the usage of online retail; with many consumers flocking online for the first time in many categories and others using it as a strategic tool to research their purchases.
Posted by Ed Cotton
10/07/2024 11:45:06 AM
"As people try to rebuild their nest eggs, the savings rate is bound to remain higher than it was a few years ago. And what we spend our money on will change, too; housing costs, which were the central cause of the rise in Americans’ indebtedness in recent years, should eat up less of our budgets in the future. But the evidence for a radical shift in the way we consume seems more like the product of wishful thinking (there’s a palpable longing among pundits for Americans to become more frugal) than anything else. In many categories, spending has dropped only slightly, if at all. And, while these are very tough times for retailers who believed that spending could only go up, retail sales rose briskly in August. Before we go proclaiming this the age of the American tightwad, a little perspective is in order. Even after the worst recession of the past seventy years, retail sales this year will be about where they were in 2005. Does anyone really think that four years ago Americans were misers?"
I don't believe this is a binary equation, some people will have to become more frugal, others with more confidence and means will certainly get back to spending. The challenge is to understand who these different groups are.
Posted by Ed Cotton
Articles for tag frugality (2 total).