> > NEW TREND IN CONSUMER BEHAVIOR POSES CHALLENGES FOR
>> MARKETERS
>>
>> FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- A new trend in consumption may
>> be contributing to declining retail sales, according
>> to University of Arkansas researchers. ...
>> "The trend toward voluntary simplicity has been
>> expanding for more than a decade," explained Cherrier.
>> ...
>
>I don't understand this. According to the U.S. Census,
>( http://www.census.gov/svsd/www/artstbl.html ), retail
>sales increased monotonically from 1992 through 1999 (the
>last year I saw data for). Maybe the figures are not
>adjusted for inflation? But in any case, I've been reading
>here and elsewhere how consumer spending has been holding
>the economy up in the face of declining business spending
>and layoffs. Can anyone explain? Or am I once again being
>too earnest and missing the punch line?
Retail sales in the U.S. have indeed gone pretty much straight up, though they've weakened in recent months. The larger category of personal consumption has been going up relentlessly; the 1991-2001 expansion was the most consumption-intensive ever.
Doug