Smart and frugal shoppers
, conscientious consumption
and stealth shopping are the talk of the trend gurus and Miss Money Penny delivers to the designer fashion part of the equation against qulality designer fashions at realistic GFC prices.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported way back in 2009;
"AFTER decades of conspicuous and unbridled consumption, Australians
are rediscovering their inner miser and arming themselves against
temptation. Their weapons of choice? Shopping lists, coupons and fewer
trips to stores.
A third of Australians intend to start using coupons,
visit value-based stores such as Aldi, use websites to track down the
best price on items and take fewer shopping trips to cut down on impulse
buying, according to the results of a survey conducted on behalf of the
Herald by research firm The Leading Edge (TLE).
The sentiment of "same for more" is increasing, TLE concluded, which
cannot be good news for most brands. "People will be happy to trade-off
on brands in areas such as household staples," the managing director of
The Leading Edge, Karen Phillips, said. "The basics, where no one will
ever see the brand, that's where we'll see brands suffering."
All this is part of what the managing director of brand
consultancy Landor Associates, Nick Foley, described as "value seeking";
a trend which, he said, is gathering pace. Value seeking is rife, not
just in suburban Australia but also in the richer enclaves of Sydney and
Melbourne where prestige brands used to be a daily indulgence. "If you
are lucky enough to be in the market for a prestige car, you can get 20
to 30 per cent off compared to a year ago," Mr Foley said.
"Now more than ever there's going to be a feeling of, 'I don't want to pay full price'."
Another factor at play is the desire to appear frugal.
"Like we saw in the last recession in the '80s, even if you've got money
right now, you don't really want to be showing it off," Mr Foley said, a
sentiment with which Ms Phillips agreed. "The whole tone of
overconsumption and flashing cash is distasteful," she said.
Trendspotters in the US have coined a phrase for the way
affluent individuals, embarrassed about flaunting their wealth, are
shopping in secret: stealth shopping.
The shift to conscientious consumption has been brewing
for years. Commentators agree that issues of sustainability and
environmental degradation were already leading Australians to question
their habit of overconsumption. Once the economy picks up, however, Ms
Phillips believes Australians are likely to return to their old habits.
"There's certainly a portion of the population - younger families mostly
- that have been raised on a culture of overconsumption, and I think it
will take more than a couple of years of an economic downturn to
permanently change their consumption habits."
The director of Heartbeat Trends, Neer Korn, on the
other hand, thinks smart shoppers are here to stay. The shift to smart
shopping has evolved over the past decade, he said, and the global
financial crisis has merely made it "more acute". "It's linked to the
sense that now you can't trust anyone," he said. "Consumers are
confronted with too many choices and marketers make so many claims, it's
hard for people to know what to believe and who to trust."
Australians are researching their shopping options, online and through catalogues, as a means to beat the system, Mr Korn said.
"They [consumers] are much more hunters than gatherers …
there's a sense of us against them. This is not so much to do with the
economy; it's about feeling you are smarter."
www.FABSUGAR Australia (http://www.fabsugar.com.au) similarly picked up on celebrities cutting through with a clever point of difference on the fashion red carpets.
"Drew Barrymore recently hit the Nylon denim issue
red carpet in a $25 vintage thrift-store find. The glomesh printed dress
boasts a cut-out back and balloon-style sleeves, cleverly displaying
both new-season and retro trends. Drew teamed her budget look with YSL
heels and oversized gold hoop earrings. I'm really impressed by her
frugalista styling here; not only has she chosen something original, but
it's a style of a dress which flatters her figure and could easily be
from a current designer collection.
And last on the ABC's 7.30 report, Business Editor Greg Hoy reported on "The Thrift Trend" in response to rising interest rates quoting,
JENNIFER CROMARTY, AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION: We did do a
consumer survey of 1,000 consumers which did talk about the thrift
trend.
"I would think it is actually just a general sentiment of
what's happening in the global economy. The retailers have been
struggling for some time because consumers, even though we've got good
employment, people might feel that they have some discretionary income
but they're worried about the threat of interest rates."
For more read on the ABC's story read here;
http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2010/s3055352.htm
The moral of the story? If you are reading this page you are on trend. You are already being frugal but not skimping on quality and well made designer fashion that lasts. You have a keen eye for good value buys and know that you have to be in the right place at the right time to hunt down and gather the best pre-loved and designer fashion going arouind - without needing to sell the farm.
TTFN
MMP
Photos: 
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