During this downturn, Wal-mart and other bargain-hunter satisfying retailers have profited while others have struggled. While high-end retailers are seeing their numbers plummet, Wal-mart is experiencing significant growth. The question is whether this growth is sustainable. When the bad times are over will Wal-mart and other retailers like them be able to keep the new customers driven to their stores by the recession?
Of course, there are those who will be so scarred by the memory of this downturn that they will stick with cheaper retailers even when the American economy is booming, much like some of our grandparents who lived through the Depression still roll pennies and re-use scrap paper. But in the end, unless bargain retailers can make a lasting impression on them now, most Americans will return to their Abercombie and J.Crew spending habits as soon as the economy recovers
A current article in BusinessWeek takes a close look at what Wal-Mart is doing to make sure these customers stick around. In this same article Ryan Mathew’s of Black Monk Consulting, which works with retail clients, says “If the recession ended tomorrow, they would lose a lot of [customers]. But the longer the recession goes, the smarter Wal-Mart will be about holding on to those customers.”
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_24/b4135000941856_page_2.htm
