Belt-tightening among wealthy shoppers could choke blue-collar households

[...]
American households in the top 20 percent by income — those making at least $150,000 a year — account for about 40 percent of overall consumer spending, which makes up two-thirds of economic activity.

Niemira expects the retail sector, whose growth was fueled in part by strong gains at luxury chains, will struggle to eke out a 1 percentage sales increase in stores opened at least a year during the next few months. That’s below the 2.1 percent average for 2007 and 3.7 percent for 2006.

[...]