Shoppers in search of savings |
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| Thursday, 17 July 2008 | |
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Middle-class shoppers are pouncing on bargains in charity shops and searching for savings in value hypermarkets and discounted
retailers as the credit crunch bites. Oxfam, for example, reported a sharp rise in browsers in its 729 stores.
'We have had an improvement in footfall and sales in the last quarter, if not a little bit longer,' said its deputy trading director, Barney Tallack. He said that just as in the 1991 recession, customer numbers are increasing - but it is sometimes hard to get the stock, as hard-pressed consumers hang on to their old clothes for a little longer. In another sign of tightening belts, Asda reports this weekend that a quarter of its sales growth in the past year has come from 'AB' shoppers - those in the top social classes. Chief executive Andy Bond said 'a tough economic climate means that more and more people are shopping for value'. |
