![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/SAVINGS2-300x158.jpg\" "\\"SAVINGS\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nConsumption is decidedly more considered, more calculated and more cash dependent. \u00a0\u00a0In fact, recent research from Mintel indicates that \u201cin the US, a third of consumers say they\u2019re using debit rather than credit\u201d and debit transactions are estimated to have risen nearly 60% between 2000 and 2010.<\/p>\n
Therefore, for the first time in many years, the average consumer\u2019s financial breathing room improved, albeit very slightly. \u00a0It makes sense therefore, that shoppers might allow themselves a degree of holiday indulgence, given their obvious restraint over the past 2-3 years.<\/p>\n
Where this flight to thrift will taper off is unknown but it wouldn’t be beyond possibility for the savings rate to hit double-digit levels. \u00a0And as long as consumers are bent on increasing their cash reserves and paying down debt, retail growth through 2011 will be flat to modest at best. \u00a0This isn’t a matter of opinion, it’s just simple math.<\/p>\n
The Future<\/h3>\n
Unfortunately, the future isn\u2019t as simple as the headlines might have us believe.\u00a0 The situation can hardly be neatly summed up in the words recession<\/em> or recovery<\/em>.\u00a0 It\u2019s considerably more complex and dynamic.<\/p>\nIn next week’s post, I’ll share some thoughts on why coming economic reconstruction is anything but a recovery and how astute retailers can not only survive it but thrive in it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Doug Stephens The Good If you\u2019ve been reading business media lately, you\u2019d be inclined to believe in Christmas miracles.\u00a0 By some accounts, the positive holiday [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[101,42,46,24,25,23],"class_list":["post-931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-consumerism","tag-future","tag-marketing","tag-retail","tag-retail-sales","tag-trends"],"yoast_head":"\n2011: The Good, the Bad and the Reality | Retail Prophet<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/2011\/01\/04\/2011-the-good-the-bad-and-the-reality\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" 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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.retailprophet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/GOOD-300x225.jpg\" "\\"GOOD\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\n