U.S. consumers at nearly every income level and spending stratum have pulled back over the past year, trading down from department stores to discounters or delaying purchases altogether. According to one poll, 60% of Americans say they're wearing clothes several times between washes to cut cleaning costs. And 72% say they now haggle before they buy some items, up from 56% two years ago, says C. Britt Beemer, chairman of America's Research Group. That frugality has retailers running scared as they near the all-important holiday season. Even if the economy picks up, some retail veterans think it could be 10 to 15 years before pre-bubble abundance returns. "They're looking at a new era," says Allen Questrom, a former CEO of J.C. Penney, Barneys, and Neiman Marcus who is now an adviser at Lee Equity Partners.
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