The harrowing recession began in 2007 overturned the American priorities, with frugality now considered a virtue for the first time in decades. Despite recent uptick in spending, retail sales remain lower than they were three years ago. Sales of homes, cars and appliances have plunged. Shoppers have cut the toilet paper and cigarettes, once thought recession proof. Although sales are down porn. Thrift, it seems, has no borders.
However, the Americans clung to a few expensive necessities surprising, reflecting changes in American society that go far beyond pennies. Food, clothing and housing have long been staples most obvious. But the data he has finally roll into the wind as the recession shows that we also need a little entertainment and a tasty beverage or two. The company is more important than ever – even if it is not the man. And you can not even find a job these days if you do not have Internet access. As we redefine what is really important, here are 10 new key U.S.
1. Laptops (Portable computers)
IPAD could be the latest must-have gadget, but the computer power transcends trendiness. Brianna Karp, for example, has discovered a lot of homeless people in line, saving many through their own laptop, as she. Shipments of phones have skyrocketed over the last three years, with sales in 2010 may be twice what they were in 2007, according to the Consumer Electronics Association. Part of the jump comes from netbooks but cheap laptops of all sizes are more pervasive than we socialize, communicate, shop, get our new and increasingly live our lives online. sales office, meanwhile, have been on a steady decline, stability, mobility assets.
2. High-speed internet
Many people have reduced cable television, telephone service, and even gas and electricity use. But once you have access to high speed Internet, you do not go back. In a poll by the Pew Research Center last year, high speed Internet was one of three things that people said was a necessity in 2009 than in 2006. Appliances such as microwaves, dryer and dishwasher, however, are considered less important in 2009 than they had. And the data of the Telecommunications Industry Association shows that the rapid increase in the number of broadband Internet subscribers hardly slowed in 2008 or 2009. In 2013, more than 90 percent of all Internet connections in the United States will be high speed.
Global sales of mobile phones fell for the first time in 2009. But sales of smart phones – which can handle email, browse the Internet and do a variety of other things – increased 7 percent, according to TIA. And sales could jump 25 percent this year, as people who have been putting off upgrades mobile finally NAB iPhone or Blackberry of their dreams. As laptops, smart phones have become a lifeline for multitasking harassed we pretend that we are not.
4. Education
As Kevin and Deanna Daum were spiral into bankruptcy in 2009, they decided they could live without their two cars, their two homes, and most of the subtleties. But they insisted on keeping tuition of their son, then an elderly person in a private secondary school. Many Americans seem to feel the same.
Although the data does not readily show how much families spend on education, many families say they have given up other things to protect their children’s education, whether in school or a private school, tutoring, enrichment programs or activities related to school. private school enrollment has decreased by less than one percent of 2008-2010, and university enrollments have increased over the past two years. This is partly because jobs are scarce, but also because Americans value education at all. “It’s an investment that pays very well,” said Sandy Baum, an economist at the College Board. “People are willing to borrow for it and they know it is shortsighted to abandon.”
5. Television
Amercian spend less on entertainment – but watching more television. A recent study by Deloitte has found that typical American watches worth nearly 18 hours of shows on TV at home every week, two hours longer than last year. One reason could be that people are more unemployed kill time at home. But television can also be seen as a cheap alternative to sports events, concerts and buying DVDs. And hard core viewers can not be all that short, since sales of HDTVs have increased steadily throughout the recession.
6. Movies
Ticket sales dipped in 2008 but rebounded in 2009, reaching a peak in five years. One major reason was Avatar and other films in 3-D, which accounted for 11 per cent of the fund to take in 2009, up 2 percent the previous year. Any increase in box office is a victory for the cinema, which until last year had been losing viewers for home theater systems and a growing range of films on cable and the Internet.
7. Music downloads
The need for mobility applies to music, too. CD sales fell 21 percent in 2009, but downloading entire albums and singles grew almost as much. The Pew study comparing luxury and needs helps explain why, more people considered an iPod a necessity in 2009 than in 2006 despite the recession.
8. Pets
Fido is sitting at the table these days. Maybe even the head of the table. While Americans have cut back spending on themselves, spending on pet food, supplies, grooming, veterinary care and clothing (clothing?) Has been the continuing rise of around 5 percent year. Industry representatives attribute this to the “humanization” of pets, which has led many pet owners to close the “quality of life gap” between their animals and themselves. The iWoof can not be far behind.
9. Booze
Smoking does not make us less than fully virtuous. The Americans fell alcohol upscale, but we are drinking enough to compensate for cheap stuff, which is the usual trend during recessions. Beer and wine have increased slightly during the same in recent years. With a bar and restaurant sales down, which suggests more people are drinking at home – while they watch television, no doubt.
10. Coffee
The Americans have followed the advice of pennies, and then returned to the stud of $ 5 per day. But they make up most infused their own coffee. About 56 percent of American adults drink coffee, a proportion that has not changed in recent years. But a recent survey by the National Coffee Association found that 86 percent of coffee drinkers have their own home, up from 82 percent a year earlier. And those who drink coffee at another place (think Starbucks) fell from 31 percent in 2009 to 26 percent in 2010. Of course, if people are drinking more alcohol at home, then it is logical that they themselves be more doses of coffee, too. If the economy improves, perhaps we need less of each.
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