A fascinating article in yesterday’s Guardian Money has shown how our spending habits have changed through the worldwide recession. Here are some of my favourite highlights:
- Women are eking out regular salon hair and beauty treatments by another couple of weeks – so good news for off-the-shelf brands – with premium health & beauty brands continuing to hold up (the little ‘lipstick treat’ effect) with only a very small percentage of women trading down to cheaper options, preferring to be more thrifty with their preferred brand. For more on health & beauty in the credit crunch, go to http://tinyurl.com/2w7fkhb
- 1 in 8 fashion shops have closed and new clothing has taken a big hit apart from the cost-conscious that have rushed to Primark and the stronger fashion labels, such as Burberry. But us women are nothing if not inventive and the recession has caused both a revival of knitting and sewing and a trend for personal looks created from charity shop bargains as well as a strong second hand trade through swishing. One brand busting the trend with record sales is Agent Provocateur, apparently driven by more cosy nights in?! For more on fashion in the credit crunch, go to http://tinyurl.com/39yy9nq
- The onset of the credit crunch had a marked impact in food retailing with Marks & Spencer and Waitrose customers reputedly trading down to Sainsbury and Tesco and their customers deserting for Aldi and Lidl. What had been a growing demand for quality and healthier foods stopped almost immediately as did sales of the relatively expensive ready meal. Instead the country enjoyed a return to home cooking and the adult packed lunch became a common sight – great news for Thermos. For more on food in the credit crunch, go to http://tinyurl.com/2eg34cl
But a really interesting learning from the recession is that the period of austerity seems to have instilled a return to old-fashioned values with consumers now starting to look for trusted value over cheap and disposable, which is a trend that brands in all areas should respond to.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Barbara Stopher and Barbara Stopher, Barbara Stopher. Barbara Stopher said: UK women may have deserted new fashion as 1 in 8 shops close but we're ever inventive – read how http://tinyurl.com/36t5ov6 #fashion [...]