Reuters has two opposing stories on consumer spending habits during the current economic climate. The first report coming from the National Association for Specialty Food Trade Show in New York this week, where vendors are quick to point out that people aren't eating in restaurants, but they are indulging in good foods to cook at home:
"People may not be buying flat-screen TVs, but they will buy lobster mac and cheese," said Cal Hancock, whose Maine-based Hancock Gourmet Lobster Co. sells the frozen delicacy. "It's the ultimate comfort food."
The National Association for the Specialty Food Trade, which sponsors the trade show, said the industry had $60 billion in U.S. sales in 2008. Fifty-eight percent of its manufacturers reported a drop in sales last year, due to economic pressures.
You can read the rest of the article here.
The second story has consumers pinching pennies all the way to forsaking the grocery store for the Dollar Tree:The retailers are trying to steal "fill-in" shopping trips from grocers, hoping consumers will pop into their stores mid week when they run out of milk or eggs or pasta.
"Dollar stores... are an increasingly daunting threat to especially regional and neighborhood-type independent grocers," said Gary Giblen, an analyst at Goldsmith & Harris.
With many consumers losing jobs or seeing their hours cut to part time, shoppers have more time and greater incentive to compare prices and scour a variety of stores for deals.
The rest of the story is available here.
