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Well, they may
be buying iPods,
iPhones, and IPads,
but if the following reports are any guide, it looks like Americans don't
have much money left for anything else, including school supplies --
"Back to
School? Summer Season for Shopping Is Early This Year" (New
York Times)
THIS year, for
the back-to-school shopping season, it is, as a sage once said, getting late
early out there.
Many retailers
and advertisers are moving up the start of their sales and marketing
campaigns devoted to children’s clothing, stationery, computers and
other back-to-school merchandise. In at least one instance, ads that promote
buying such items on layaway appeared in mid-June — when schools in
several parts of the country were still in session.
The
front-running of the back-to-school shopping season is not unlike how Madison
Avenue has for years been advancing the start of the Christmas shopping
season. Indeed, even as some retailers begin their back-to-school sales
early, they are also sponsoring “Christmas in July” sales.
In both
instances, the reason for getting an early start is the same: with an
uncertain economy, the goal is to gather ye consumer dollars while ye may,
even if it may peeve some tradition-minded shoppers. --
medical
care --
"Health
Insurers Keep Reporting Robust Profits" (New
York Times)
UnitedHealth
Group, one of the nation’s largest health insurers, reported its
second-quarter results on Tuesday, and the good news for the industry looked
as if it was likely to continue.
The company
announced a double-digit increase in profits and raised its estimates for
what it thought it would make for 2011, according to the company’s news
release.
Once again, the
high profits of the insurers appear to be partly the result of more
budget-consciousness by their customers, even as the insurers ask for higher
premiums. Many Americans seem to be putting off or forgoing medical care
because of the weak economy and the increasing amount they are required to
pay in medical bills as their deductibles and co-payments climb, as I wrote
in a front-page article in May. --
and vacations
--
"Economic
Slump Curbs Americans' Summer Travel" (Reuters)
Hit by the
country's economic slow-down, a majority of Americans do not plan to travel
this summer, and most of those who will won't be
going far from home, according to a new poll.
Over a third,
or 34 percent, of people surveyed in a Marist poll said that they had changed
their travel plans to save money.
The telephone
survey also showed that 55 percent of American adults won't be booking any
summer vacation plans at all, compared to 52 percent in the summer of 2010.
"We're
continuing to see the effects of the economic slump on people's vacation
plans" said Dr. Lee Miringoff, director of the
Marist College poll. "People are reacting to the downturn and adjusting
their vacation plans accordingly."
Let them eat cake iPads?
Michael J. Panzner
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