Listening to the Voice Of Their Inner Cheapskate

With consumer confidence in full retreat, will Americans stop treating themselves to top-shelf goods and start hunting for bargains? In fact, a majority of them believe they’ve been doing that already. In a poll conducted for Adweek by Alden & Associates Marketing Research of Hermosa Beach, Calif., people were asked: What matters most to you when you shop—getting a good bargain or getting the very best, regardless of cost? By amargin of 57 percent to 43 percent, “good bargain” outpolled “very best.”