Fear or Frugality? Either Way, We're Spending Less

A new normal that revolves around buying lots of stuff while bragging about our bargain-hunting skills doesn’t seem to reflect changed values. There are other possibilities that seem more considered and less reactionary: an organization called the Institute for American Values recently issued a report offering serious suggestions for cultivating a new thrift, like endorsing a public-education campaign; making the Thrift Savings Plan, which lets federal workers regularly sock a portion of their income into diversified investment funds, available to all working Americans; and even a revival of National Thrift Week.

But so far, nobody has quite reconciled the vision of a sober and repentant new shopper with the substantial government efforts to reignite consumer spending. This year’s Black Friday big-box mobs hint that perhaps bargain binges and postmaterialist values aren’t the same thing. If there’s a deeper shift in our thinking, it’s still to come. And maybe it will. After all, the mere fact that we have managed to characterize consumer shock as frugality chic offers a perverse form of hope: That whatever happens, we’ll never lose our tendency toward optimism — even, it turns out, about our pessimism. Talk is Cheap

And here's a short video on how luxury brands like Bulgari are taking it on the chin...look for lots more hand-wringing after the results of the Christmas season come in. Luxury Brands Face Slowing Economies