More Shoppers Buy Less, Leave Items Behind

By Anne D'Innocenzio, AP Retail Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Penny-pinching Americans are getting cold feet at the checkout — thinking twice about spending and ditching items before they're rung up.

They're leaving sweaters in the dress department, dumping cookies near the grocery cashier and waiting until the last minute to judge needs versus wants. Online, shoppers are abandoning their virtual carts as they search for better deals.

People "want to be in the act of shopping, but they don't want to be in the act of buying," said Joel Bines, a director at AlixPartners, a turnaround consultant.

It means more lost sales for stores at a time when there are already less customers because of the recession. For brick-and-mortar shops already working with less staff, it also means higher labor costs because orphaned items have to be restocked.

Hard numbers are difficult to come by, but Burt P. Flickinger III, a retail consultant, estimates that in 25% of shoppers' trips to the store, they're ditching at least one item. In the recession of the early 1990s, it was 15% to 20%. In good times, it's more like 10%.

Ashley Nichols Guttuso of Midlothian, Va., dumped a red cardigan last week at the counter at the local Limited store after she found out she couldn't use a $15 store coupon on the $15 sweater.

Guttoso says she could have afforded it, but she has focused on necessities since losing her job as a copywriter for Circuit City in January, as the chain was preparing to go out of business.

"I went in there thinking I could get something for free," said the 27-year-old. "I couldn't rationalize it — even spending $15 to $20. I am watching everything now."

Customers are asking cashiers to provide a total while they're still scanning items to see where they stand, or to have necessities like health care basics scanned first, said Dan Fishback, chief executive of DemandTec Inc., a retail technology company. When they hit their limit, they forgo what's left in the basket.