(1888PressRelease)
August 07, 2008 - New poll shows consumers are worried about the economy. CNN together with the Opinion Research Corp. recently released the result of a new poll about the state of the economy in the United States. Results show that seventy-nine percent of those polled believe that we are currently in a recession. This belief has been on the rise, rising five percent since March when only seventy-four percent of respondents felt that the United States economy was in a recession. The new results are a thirteen percent increase from those who answered “yes” to the recession question in February.
Technically speaking, a recession is a trend in various economic factors including the GDP (Gross national product), employment, industrial production, real income, and the sales figures from retail and wholesale industries. However, what this poll, which was conducted by phone at the end of April, is showing economic leaders is that people are less concerned with technical definitions and economic reports from the National Bureau of Economic Research and are more concerned with what they see and hear around them. And when people see signs of a stressed economy in the job market and housing market then they see a recession, regardless of definitions. Most American economic annalists will agree the perceptions of consumers in the United States carries far more weight in their spending and buying habits than does any technical definitions about the state of the nation.
According to a report by CNN, America has recently seen a loss of over two hundred and sixty thousand jobs in only the first four months of the year. For consumers feeling the impact of these job losses and seeing the price of gas soaring to $122 a barrel (resulting in prices pushing $4 a gallon in some areas) consumers have plenty of reasons around them to be concerned with the state of the economy. This concern translates into a reactionary need to conserve funds and actively find ways of reducing costs. This means that many consumers are altering their buying habits, looking for better deals, redefining their needs, and seeking out stores that can deliver the products they are looking for at a price that they can feel comfortable with.
Since American consumers are seeking out sources that can help them to make their budgets go farther, retailers who cannot meet this need are likely to find themselves in quite a tight spot. On the other hand, those retailers who can measure up and offer customers the bargains they are seeking will not only be able to pull through this slump in the American economy, but they may even be able to actually prosper because of it.
Consider Imposter City, Inc (http://www.impostercity.com) a sunglasses retailer specializing in designer knock off discount sunglasses. Imposter City, Inc. which is based in Rego Park, New York has been seeing impressive success in the current recessionary climate, or perhaps, because of it. President and CEO of Imposter City, Inc., William Shaker says that they have seen sales of their affordable designer replica sunglasses increase by thirty percent. A trend, that he accredits to consumers being more frugal and searching for deals that many department stores just do not seem to be able to deliver. Since customers are less likely to shell over $50 or $75 or more (some designer label sunglasses can range into the hundreds). However, when that same customer can go to a place like Imposter City, Inc. and obtain a pair of sunglasses that are comparable in both quality and style for only around $20, they are much more likely to spend the money. And judging from Imposter City's sales records, they certainly seem to be catering to consumers' recession trend worries quite successfully.
One thing that is certain, as worries over the economy grow, retailers that are going to stay afloat during this time of uncertainty are going to be those who can keep the concerns of their customers in mind and address their need for affordable alternatives to everything like sunglasses to more every day items. While we may see buying habits falling from the hefty prices of the department stores, smaller independent leaders in retail, like Imposter City, Inc., are likely to see continued success as long as they keep offering consumers the deals they are after.
So while consumers may not have as much confidence in the economic state of this country as some business and economy leaders would like, one thing is certain, if companies want to stay in the red during this rough period they are going to have to follow the example of successful retailers like Imposter City, Inc. and cater to the worries of American consumers.
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