According to the study, which queried nearly 50,000 consumers by e-mail during the first week of June, 78% of them are combining shopping trips and 52% are eating out less often. Consumers are also cutting more coupons, doing more of their shopping at supercenters and buying less-expensive brands, the survey found.
A rebounding economy may let some consumers revert to their old ways -- like people who switched to smaller cars when times were hard in the 1970s but flocked to sport utility vehicles when gas got cheap again. But with more economists believing that the current woes will last well into next year, many think the underlying frugality will linger. Some Americans say their parents or grandparents affected by the Great Depression are still hoarding buttons and squeezing out several soup meals from ham bones.
"I shop cautiously," said Edna Sott, an 88-year-old from Berkeley Heights, N.J. "I would say that is a hangover" from the Depression.
Marian Salzman, chief marketing officer for public relations agency Porter Novelli, cites a "Depression mentality" that's making people "rethink their optimism in the economy."
The widening gap between discounters and mall-based apparel sellers was evident in monthly retail sales figures released last week. The International Council of Shopping Centers-UBS tally of 38 stores found same-store sales at discounters rose 5.1% in June and 9% at wholesale clubs. Discount giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc. posted a 5.8% gain, its best June performance since 2002.
At department stores, though, same-store sales -- or those at stores open at least a year -- dropped 4.1%.
"People are spending money on food and the products they need to sustain life," said Todd Hale, senior vice president at Nielsen.
He noted sharp declines in visits to clothing, office-supply and hardware stores. He also pointed out that sales of store-brand products in grocery items were up 9.1% for the year ended April 19, while sales of branded products rose a more modest 3.9%.
