While consumers are cutting back on a lot of things because of the recession, they’re still plunking down big bucks for designer jeans. ( LA Times )
Romantic “devices” and his-and-hers lubricants are flying off the shelves in supermarkets and drug-stores during the recession. ( Advertising Age )
Malls, those ubiquitous shopping meccas that sprang up in the 1950s, are turning into ghost towns in the recession, with many struggling properties reduced to largely vacant shells. ( Wall Street Journal )
The idea of the recession causing families to move en masse out of New York City “is about as likely as a giant ape climbing on top of the Empire State Building,” writes Hugo Lindgren. ( New York Mag )
Although bartering has a long history, both users and facilitators link the recent spike in goods-trading to an obvious common denominator - recession. ( Denver Post )
Attendance at movie theaters this year has jumped 14 percent, as recession-weary Americans are increasingly opting for films’ escapism. ( LA Times via San Jose Mercury News )
The number of companies offering traditional defined benefit pension plans was shrinking even before the recession, but the downturn has accelerated the decline. ( USA Today )
” With chronic instability comes a shift in loyalty from the company to one’s own calling, skills and personal life. Many people are embracing the risks of entrepreneurship, and others … are transforming what they do within a large corporation.” ( Forbes )
In times of economic crisis, women are more likely to go on a shopping spree than in normal times. “This type of spending, or compensatory consumption, serves as a way of regulating intense emotions,” said Karen Pine, a University of Hertfordshire professor. ( LiveScience via FoxNews )
The recession could be deadly for many pets, whose owners can’t afford to keep them or pay for vet bills. 780,000 pets - including 200,000 dogs - could be put down as the recession takes its toll. ( MomLogic )
