Inflation and Wal-Mart

Check out this article on consumer spending habits.

I have to say, I've felt the pinch lately at the supermarket. Items that used to cost $2 now cost $2.50. Which wouldn't be a big deal...except that most everything I buy has gone up like that. I remember in college, when the price of milk started rising. It was unsettling. Part of me felt deeply offended that, as a poor college student, I had to reconsider the amount of milk I drank. Another part of me wondered what that was like for young families who couldn't reconsider.

I still feel a little affronted when I have to downgrade the items I buy. I read a book a while back called Trading Up, that focused on how the American consumer was trending toward buying "luxury goods" in some arenas (Starbucks for coffee, Vickie's for undies, etc.) and saving money in other areas (only buying paperback books, using generic hand soap, you get the picture) to support their luxury habits. What was interesting at that time (about 2 years ago) was that every market or consumer good had the potential to become a luxury item.

Now that we're in an economic downturn/recession, I wonder how much that has changed. With consumers looking left and right for ways to save, how many of the luxury items are they downgrading? How is this affecting marketing efforts? How is it affecting jobs at companies, like Starbucks, that make the items people can live without? These are interesting times. Everyday is like a social experiment!

On the plus side, this is the first year that I've been able to buy discount Cadbury eggs since 2003. Apparently, they are a luxury item that some deemed unnecessary this Easter. But not me :)

Posted by Natalie Stone at 12:32 PM