Saving Is The New Spending

As an era of pretension gives way to the Age of Austerity,  saving has become the new spending. As the economy tumbles,  unemployment rises and the media is filled with tales of the excesses of the easy credit economy of the recent past,  consumers are becoming as attracted to saving as they once were to spending.

Marketers, have long benefited from the impulse purchasing consumer and their attraction to the latest trends in apparel, gadgets, automobiles and even housing. Think McMansions, iphones and SUV’s as an example . Today the hot new trend is saving and buying right.

The same gratification that consumers derived by rushing out and maintaining the status quo by purchasing the latest and greatest gadget, or dining at the hot new eatery of the week, will now be replaced by the satisfaction of watching their new savings account grow, while they dine at home on a convenient heat and serve entree enjoying their latest shipment from netflix.

 Americans have always valued a deal,  but in today’s market,  the value conscious consumer has emerged at the top of the consumer pyramid and will exercise a more disciplined, patient approach to their shopping experiences,  that will create new opportunities for those marketers that are savvy enough to recognize the trends. 

This new disciplined approach by consumers was evident during the most recent Holiday season as consumers continued to delay purchases,  while retailers discounted and then further discounted prices. Traditional winners in a receding economy like WalMart were even impacted and surprised by this new consumer.

It remains to be seen if the savings trend is temporal for the American consumer or presents a sea change in the American consumer psyche. What is evident,  is that there will be winners and losers in the near term as retailers and marketers adjust to a new market reality.

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America The Blended

The inauguration of Barack Obama,  as the 44th President of the United States,  represents  the dawning of a new era in the American experience. A nation that fought a bloody civil war over states’  rights to allow slavery and endured a century long battle for civil rights,  will witness a son of a Kenyan father and a white  mother, with Midwestern roots, take the oath of office on the very bible that Abraham Lincoln took the oath as the 16th president, while the nation prepared for a war with it self.

Lincoln’s America was a country of  great divisions. North and South, rich and poor , black and white. An industrial era was beginning as east and west were linked by rails laid by Irish laborers working from the east and Chinese laborers from the west.

 A decade before the war, Cyrus McCormick introduced a mechanized harvester that began to transform a predominantly agrarian society and laid the groundwork for modern agriculture,  resulting in less labor  and higher yields,  precipitating the transition for many, from farm to city,  a trend toward urbanization that has continued to this day.

In the vast plains of the west,  the thundering roar of the buffalo could still  be heard,  giving no credence to the echo they would become,  while Native Americans remained stewards of this vast land not having yielded to the influx of immigrants that would soon come from the east flooding the plains with their dreams and aspirations.

Today,  America is the great cultural and social blender of the world. The nation that began as an outpost for Europeans  seeking religious freedom , has become the wealthiest country in the world. Much of that wealth, derived from the  diversity and richness of its’ people.  

It began with the British, the Dutch, the Germans, Italians and Irish. Joined by the Spanish, the Africans, the Scandinavians and Poles. And in later decades,  the Chinese, the Japanese,  Eastern Europeans, Persians, Arabs and people of all religions and cultures throughout the world. Decade after decade,  America has embraced people from all cultures and strata of society welcoming them to participate in the great social experiment that this nation has become.  

As Barack Obama enters the White House the world will gaze with astonishment at the marvel of  America’s  first President of mixed race. No matter, the politics, conservative or liberal, democrat or republican, one has to take pride that this nations electorate has looked beyond the color of a mans’ skin as a prerequisite for election to the nations highest office. In the Age of Austerity,  America is rich with the quilted fabric of its’ culture.

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