There’s all sorts of interesting stuff out there on how the economy is making Americans rethink their spending.

This Wall Street Journal story discusses how brand loyalty is going down the tank as fast as the stock market.  I don’t know about you, but I’ve had little brand loyalty for years now with the exception of packing tape and face lotion. When my husband brought home two small things of Quaker Oats instead of the ginormous store brand, I almost strangled the poor guy.

With the holidays here, at least according to retail calendars, there are plenty of surveys coming out about how we are all planning to reduce our holiday spending this year. 

Consumer Reports announced today that its survey found 76 percent of consumers plan to cut back holiday spending. It also launched a blog to help shoppers save money.

Western Union found that 56 percent asked in their survey said they wanted cash for Christmas this year. Don’t 100 percent of us want cash every year? I’m sure the company would be happy to wire some to them.

In all seriousness though, with more retailers closing stores and filing for bankruptcy, cash looks like a safer option than gift cards.

How are you changing your shopping habits and expectations for the holidays this year?

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 6th, 2008 at 6:26 pm and is filed under shopping. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.