The Recession has changed buying habits and MediaPost reports in "Moms Crack Whip On Household Spending" that within the next six months consumers are expecting things to be better and a return to normal shopping habits....
"In every single age, gender and demographic category, respondents agreed that things will be much better in six months. "That tells us that people are more confident and optimistic about their future earnings than we've thought," Skinner says. "That's a very positive sign, and the silver lining in all of this."
"To survive, retailers need to step up the value message they send to women shoppers, both in stores and in mass marketing efforts--especially those aimed at women and higher-end shoppers. And they should take a much more proactive role in education, making it easier for shoppers to learn about their products, and investing in training to make sales staff more knowledgeable, he says."
Among the trends, 68% are eating in more, 50% moving to discount retailers, and 87% trading brands and going to private labels and luxery spending on Furniture and Jewelry remain vulnerable....
""We found much sharper differences by gender than we expected," says Steven Skinner, VP of consumer products for Miller Zell, an Atlanta-based retail consulting company, which conducted a recent survey. Among the changes are a much higher level of pre-planning and research, with 45% of women saying they are doing more online research than they have in the past, as well as enforcing greater levels of accountability from all family members. Women say they are now making more joint shopping decisions, and are two times more likely to do so in such "male" categories as furniture, home improvement and electronics. "