Retailers overhaul business as consumers pull back

[earth mom]

Just heard this story on the local news...

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Retailers overhaul business as consumers pull back

By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO, AP Retail Writer – Mon Jan 19, 4:54 pm ET


NEW YORK – For years, retailers could afford to be sloppy about running their businesses because customers kept buying.
No more.

Stung by the worry that shoppers — who cut spending by the most dramatic amount in at least 39 years this the holiday season — may not start spending again for a long time, stores are making drastic changes. They are cutting out marginal suppliers, hiring outside experts to keep inventory lean, holding special events for those who are still buying and making extraordinary efforts to gauge customer satisfaction.

The new discipline will be mostly good news for shoppers, who will find stores less cluttered and see an array of products at lower prices, from ordinary groceries to jeans from brands they could once only aspire to.

Of course, the downside is that consumers who want something out of the ordinary — an olive green prom dress, for example — may have to look harder. Stores are rooting out offbeat, unpopular colors and styles, which will mean fewer choices.

More:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090119/ap_on_bi_ge/retailing_makeover

[madrchsod]

1. the internet has more options than brick and mortar stores

the people who want something different will use the net.....