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'Insourcing' Is Recession's DIY Buzzword
From hairdressing to gardening, 'insourcing' is hot
By Matt Cantor
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Posted Feb 26, 09 11:00 AM CST
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(Newser)
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The recession is prompting Americans to forgo luxuries—and that means doing for themselves what they would once have paid someone else to do, the Washington Post reports. Starter sewing-kit sales have soared 30%; landscapers are losing business; customers are forsaking salons to dye their own hair. The trend is popular enough for marketers to have named it “insourcing.”
Wal-Mart reports increased seed sales as people move to grow their own food. A Target campaign has picked up on the shift, dubbing glass cleaner “the new carwash,” yoga balls “the new gym.” “So much of it comes down to perception," said one trade-group exec. “Do I perceive the service that I’m getting as an added pampering, or do I need it?”