Despite the high unemployment rate and unstable job security, many just can't give up daily costs, like Starbucks coffee.
Last week’s Bloomberg BusinessWeek published a very interesting cover story regarding the recession, Americans, and their spending habits.
BusinessWeek actually visited several big-name malls and stores across the country — Mall of America in Minneapolis, Fashion Show Mall in Las Vegas, Woodfield Mall in suburban Chicago, Barneys in New York — to ask shoppers their thoughts about the economy and, since most of their thoughts were negative, why they were out shopping if they thought like that?
According to Consumer Reports, even though 51% of consumer say they’re trying to save, of those people, 17% are still spending outside their means, and 20% are buying on impulse,and still treat themselves to new, expensive purchases they might not have bought for themselves six months ago, like an iPhone4.
It’s interesting, reading about the irony of people juggling their iPhones in one hand, Starbucks coffees in the other, yet talking about switching to less expensive laundry detergent, soap and shampoo brands. But cutting costs is costs, and that’s how many shoppers justify buying Starbucks in the first place.
One woman confessed to “looking at price tags a bit more carefully” in the Fashion Show Mall in Vegas…yet she had splurged on the trip to Vegas itself. Even though she told BusinessWeek, “It’s really tough right now,” she also admitted to “pulling out all the stops” for Vegas and getting a room for the trip at the Bellagio.
Hypocrisy? Maybe, but what does it say about people and how they’re dealing with cutting costs in a recession?
