US shoppers are chasing big bargains this holiday season — at very deep discounts.
In this lame economy, thrift, consignment, Walmart and the ubiquitous dollar stores will ring up record sales for the holidays as more cash-strapped, middle-class and impoverished consumers adjust to stretching their budgets, retail experts say.
The stores are also becoming fashionable among higher-income shoppers.
“High-income earners were probably more embarrassed to be seen shopping at dollar stores before the onslaught of the recession in 2008,” said Olivia Tang, a retail industry analyst at IBISWorld.
That has changed. Tang said that the slow economic recovery has transformed consumer attitudes — across all income levels. Many who once shopped at department and retail stores are purchasing cheaper goods elsewhere, like Walmart or Target
“It is not like the pre-recession days,” Tang added. “Back then, some people didn’t want to be associated with these dollar stores.”
Bryn Winburn, a spokeswoman for deep discount chain Family Dollar, said consumers view the way they spend today much more differently than they did four years ago.
“We believe there has been a structural change in the US population as a result of the Great Recession,” she said.
The National Retail Federation (NRF) is forecasting total retail holiday sales to grow by 4.1 percent over last year — a mammoth sum of $586.1 billion in 2012. Sales growth won’t all come from big-ticket computer sales and fashion accessories at the mall.
A larger slice of the $749.51 (what the average holiday shopper will spend this season) is going to merchants that sell used, deeply discounted and cheaper items, analysts say.
“The media heavily promotes those people who were standing in line trying to get into Black Friday deals,” Jack Gillis, director of public affairs at the Consumer Federation of America, told The Post. “But the vast majority are expected to be cautious and careful in terms of their spending.”
The latest holiday spending survey by the group points to continuing consumer pessimism.
“That pessimism is going to have an impact on spending,” Gillis said.
It’s certainly driving sales growth at dollar stores.