Consumer to remain cautious for the foreseeable future

Observation:   The premise of Elm Street Economics is to avoid the collective noise that tends to come out of Wall Street or Washington, and refocus on what your consumers are trying to tell you.  To that end, a great story from yesterday’s New York Times takes a consumer-point-of-view in helping us understand the current situation faced by many folks, and the behaviors we might therefore anticipate.  Click here to see the full story.

Implications:   This story seems to suggest that consumers are not going to single-handedly pull us into a robust recovery, at least not in the next few months.  They remain cautious and careful; reconciled to spending in a way that matches their current financial realities. 

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.