79. Luxury retail
January 5, 2010
First, it was the aspirational shoppers who pulled back from luxury retailers like Saks and Neiman Marcus. Now, the truly affluent have decided to stay home, too, with luxury retailers being even harder hit than the general retail sector. Sociological forces certainly are at play here as conspicuous consumption has become socially unacceptable. One example: Customers everywhere from Fifth Avenue to Rodeo Drive are playing hide-the-label, asking cashiers to use plain paper bags or even having their purchases shipped to their homes instead.