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Britt Beemer America's Research Group articles most recent first Furniture Buying Index Falls in May Consumers Shift Spending To What They Need, Not What They Want Furniture Buying Index Drops Two More Points; Wal Mart Expands Home Furnishings In Midst of Sluggish Furniture Sales Beemer - Many Retailers In Free Fall After Disappointing December August Retail Sales Surge; Home Furnishings, Accessories Lag behind Expert Predicts Back-to-School Spending to Grow Meagerly in 2007 Retail Shopping Takes A Holiday Early Indications Are For A Frugal First Quarter Independent Retailers Outperformed Chain Stores In December Britt Beemer Lowers Forecast of Christmas Retail Sales to 2.7% Rise Over Last Year; Lack of “Must Have” Item to Blame Want To Drive Shoppers Away? Decorate Stores Less and Don’t Say “Merry Christmas” 2006 Q4 Shoppers Study Revealing; Cyber Monday a Hoax, Biggest Retail Push Will Be After December 15th 10 Trends For Retail Christmas 2006 Survey; Parents Cite High Gas Prices As Primary Reason For Limiting Back To School Spending Families Reduce Summer Spending As Gas Prices Rise Or Was It? New Survey Casts Doubt On Rosie Black Friday Survey; Bargain Hunters Drive June Results Top 10 Retail Stores For April; Discounts Drive Traffic Survey Says Americans Extremely Optimist About The Future 37% Of Shoppers Noticed Less Christmas Decorations In Stores; Spent Less As A Result America’s Research Group; Shopping Levels Increasing But Still Expected To Be Lackluster 3.2% Over 2003 Lack Of Hot New Product Weighing Heavily On Holiday Shopping Survey Of Thanksgiving Weekend Shoppers; "We're Not Impressed"; 45% Say Discounts Not Enough Britt Beemer’s Christmas 2004 Sales Forecast; 19% Will Spend More Since Bush Was Reelected Seven Things Your Store’s Appearance Tells Your Customers Britt Beemer Cites Convenience As Key To Drawing Male Shoppers Beemer Lowers Christmas Sales Projection to 4.2% Increase This Year Compared To His Earlier 4.8% Sales Increase survey 31.0% of Americans Who Planned to Shop Thanksgiving Weekend Did Not Get Around To It Study Shows 11% Increase In Consumer Spending For Appliance, Electronics, Computers Britt Beemer Predicts 4.8% Increase In Holiday Spending survey Furniture Leads All Categories For Shopping Levels Over Labor Day Weekend survey Consumers Plan to Spend 10% More on Back to School Furniture Buying Index Up One Point Buying furniture is on consumers’ minds, but not a top priority Shopping Is Not a Big Priority for Many Americans The Incredible Shrinking Customer Base How Loyal is Your Customer? The Loyalty American Consumers Have Towards Brand Products

Tax rebate checks will be in the mail soon. Normally consumers see them as windfalls to splurge on a big ticket item. But this year more and more Americans will be using the rebates just to pay their bills.
Britt Beemer, America's Research Group

By Britt Beemer - America's Research Group

The number of shoppers drawn to discount stores for their purchase reached an all-time high of 93.7 percent during the last month.

In the ten years that I have been conducting the Consumer Mind Reader Survey for America's Research Group, I have never seen such a huge majority of American consumers turning to a single retail category. To attract 937 of the 1,000 consumers we interviewed for the survey is unprecedented.

Given the state of our economy, the reason behind the dash for discount prices is obvious. Continually rising fuel costs are now being felt not only at the pump, but in the price of products in retail stores.

The recession has already forced American families into a belt-tightening mentality. Between looming foreclosures, business layoffs and general economic uncertainty, luxury shopping is out the window. There's room in the family budget for items on the wish list. Consumers are not buying what they want because they can only afford what they need.

These factors directly benefit discount stores, perceived by consumers as the best value store with the best prices.

Another big advantage discount stores enjoy these days is shopping convenience. With gas prices so high, consumers aren't driving to specialty stores when they can buy everything they need in a single location.

Tax rebate checks will be in the mail soon. Normally consumers see them as windfalls to splurge on a big ticket item. But this year more and more Americans will be using the rebates just to pay their bills.