Women Drive Recovery, But Dissed By Retail

Recession isn't over as far as consumers are concerned

(NEWSER) - If the recession is indeed waning, nobody told consumers. Retailers of every kind reported lousy sales for the quarter ended Aug. 1, the Wall Street Journal reports. Target’s same-store sales fell 6.2%, Home Depot’s dropped 9.1% and Saks’ plummeted a whopping 15.5%. And with unemployment, stagnant wages, and tight credit squeezing shoppers, executives don’t expect to see improvement until next spring. More»

In slump, simple pleasures are chic as traditional values gain

(NEWSER) - Reading about a Michigan family that shed modern excess in favor of a self-sufficient farm life didn't strike Peggy Noonan as shocking in these economic times. Her fellow New Yorkers have already begun responding to the same forces, causing Noonan to predict the rise of "a certain authenticity chic," she writes in the Wall Street Journal: More»

(NEWSER) - Americans are stressed about the economy and keeping their wallets shut, says a new ABC/Washington Post poll. While the number of Americans who say the economy is getting better is on the rise, that's not translating into shopping habits. Six in 10 say they feel stressed—half of those describe it as "serious" stress—4 in 10 say they've scrapped plans to buy a car or go on vacation in the last 6 months, and 3 in 10 have put off buying durable goods such as household appliances. More»

(NEWSER) - Retailers are fighting to survive in 2009, some more successfully than others. Some 73,000 stores could close their doors by year’s end. Forbes breaks down which chains are shrinking the fastest:

• Ann Taylor: Catering to working women isn’t so great when unemployment’s at 8.1%. Expected sales drop: 17.3%
• Saks: November’s 70%-off sale didn’t help, and it’s already been forced to lay off 1100. Expected sales drop: 26.2%

But experts don't expect boost to last

(AP) - Consumer spending rose in January after falling for a record 6 consecutive months, pushed higher by purchases of food and other non-durable items. But the increase is expected to be fleeting given the problems facing the US economy. Spending rose 0.6% in January, better than the 0.4% gain economists expected, the Commerce Department said today. More»