Social Cache.
A Nemo blog. Dealing with uncommon cents.

A few years ago, a nonprofit group called the Center for a New American Dream conducted a poll in which 81% of respondents felt that Americans were too focused on shopping and spending, while 88% agreed that our nation was too materialistic. And, this year, consumer spending declined for the first time since 1991.

In his Consumed article for the Times Magazine, Rob Walker discusses how consumer spending is finally slowing down. The recent decline has many people assuming that there is a direct relation to a new focus on personal values. Some observers feel that since people are buying less, they must be searching for a deeper meaning in life beyond the spoils of material goods.

Instead, Walker argues that it’s way too convenient to conclude that consumers have suddenly morphed into thoughtful, frugal shoppers with redefined values. He conveniently points out that at the same time spending shrunk, access to easy credit also evaporated. Home equity loans and the barrage of low interest credit cards have dramatically decreased; could this be partially responsible for the decline?

While it’s true that more consumers are bargain hunting, they’re still buying stuff. And, if they seem to be spending less, it’s probably related to fear over the volatile market, not because they’ve shifted into a more frugal mindset.

Instead of frequenting the usual high-end haunts of Saks and Bergdorf’s, shoppers are now hitting invitation-only events, private showrooms and even soirees in their friend’s houses to get their shopping fixes. People don’t want to be spotted in public buying mounds of luxury goods during these harsh economic times; they’d much prefer to be stealth about it.

Besides just shopping without the glaring eyes and guilt, women are also loving the influx of invitation-only events because they’re getting a chance to gossip and catch up with friends while spending money. A trick of many of these multi-day events is to donate a small percentage of proceeds to a charity organization, which further encourages spending without the guilt.

Even more discreet shoppers have turned their attention to the web, scouring Ebay and other high-end sites for discounted designer deals. Even with the gloomy economic outlook, there’s no doubt that major shopping is still taking place. It’s just that this time around, the goal is to not be seen or heard.