During the summer of 2008, as the world economy and capital markets plunged into a state of turmoil from which they have yet to fully recover, a consensus developed that the trauma of the “Great Recession” would permanently change the psychology of the American consumer. Phrases such as “New Frugality” emerged to express the view that attitudes favoring careful spending, increased saving, and value-oriented consumer behaviors would persist far longer than the economic conditions which produced them.

To test this idea, The Parthenon Group conducted two parallel streams of research over the last 24 months.