How Consumers Are Coping: Layaway, More Gardens and Pet Adoptions

Consumer activity gives a good indication of how the economy is holding up, and here are five trends indicating that consumers are having a particularly hard time lately.

Buying “locally grown” for savings, not taste. Today’s New York Times traces the increased popularity of locally vegetables, particularly in rural areas such as eastern Kentucky. In many farmers markets run in cities, consumers are accustomed to paying somewhat of a premium for organic, freshly harvested, locally grown produce. Rural shoppers, by contrast, are gathering veggies from local sources—often, in their own backyards, or their neighbors’—as a money saver as much as for the taste or health benefits. The rise in backyard gardens began at least during the peak recession-era days of 2009, when there was a substantial uptick in sales of vegetable seeds. A NY Times story from 2009 noted that 19% more households planned to grow gardens that year, and 54% of people with gardens said they were trying to trim their families’ food expenses.

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