consumer trends

While some businesses are closing, others open

Oroville -- Teresa Bachellerie milled around her small florist shop Tuesday, looking at hundreds of gift items stacked on shelves and hanging on walls. "It's hard to believe that in about a month all these... more »

Recession responses differ

In trying to ride out the recession, two local businesses have taken opposite tacks. One has built its own building and taken on tenants; the other has consolidated to cut expenses.Scott Mace opened Rock Hill... more »

February Retail Sales Stronger Than Expected

Led by Walmart, which posted a strapping 5% sales jump in February, many of the largest retail chains did better than many predicted. Overall, the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) says U.S. chain store... more »

One Small Retailer Adjusts to the New Normal

It's a familiar refrain: Customers only buy what's on sale, if they buy at all. That's the case at one small Portland chain of kitchen goods stores, says co-owner John Whisler. So rather than try... more »

Folks shopping… just not at high-end stores

Shoppers who once paid $80 for a brand-name dress shirt at Dillard's now flip through racks at Marshall's, where a comparable shirt, maybe in an off color, costs around $40.Marshall's former customers browse Savers, where... more »

Tough times? These businesses adapt to survive and thrive

It sounds like an ordinary sales call -- but with one big difference designed to meet the challenges of the slow economy.Two people from Bakersfield-based produce company Sun World International LLC paid a visit last... more »

Believing in Wilkes-Barre, mayor’s wife to open downtown store

Wilkes-Barre – One person with every reason to believe the downtown is experiencing a comeback will open a business in the Midtown Village in March.Patty Leighton, wife of Mayor Tom Leighton – the man who... more »

For Sacramento-area gift shop owners, it’s a tougher sell

Amid an entrenched recession and coming off one of the worst holiday shopping seasons in years, local gift shop operators say the nature of their business is shifting."The whole game has changed," said Bobbi Gould,... more »