COLD FEET

Are Shoppers Holding Back Recovery?

Unlikely to resume spending until next spring.

The economy may be on the road to recovery, but are consumers holding it back? Shoppers stuck to buying basics over the last quarter, The Wall Street Journal reports, with Target posting a drop of 6.2 percent in stores open at least a year, and Saks a drop of 15.5 percent. Though the reliable back-to-school shopping approaches, retail experts say the conditions probably won’t improve until next spring. 60 percent of the economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal said that a substantial growth in consumer spending was necessary for sustained economic growth. But it looks like that will be hard to change overnight. Said one 22-year-old shopper, who has switched from luxury retailers to shopping with coupons: “When I spend, it takes away from the family. I don’t splurge anymore.”