NOTHING COSTS MORE THAN IT USED TO:

Bargain shopping pushes up sales: In June, discounters and warehouses bested department stores. (Leslie Earnest, July 13, 2007, Los Angeles Times)

Retailers Thursday posted moderate sales results for June as shoppers kept spending but tried to get more for their money.

Wall Street celebrated the sales report with major gains, seeing evidence that the retail economy was not collapsing amid a nationwide housing downturn. But retail experts also saw an increased price consciousness among consumers.

Sales dropped on average at department stores but rose more than expected at warehouse stores such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s Sam's Club and BJ's Wholesale Club Inc.

"I think it's a story of price," said Michael Niemira, chief economist for the International Council of Shopping Centers. "With a softer feel to the economy, there's been a shift to the discounters and wholesale clubs."

In the modern Hooverville, an economic crisis is when you have to buy the same stuff for less at a different store.

Posted by Orrin Judd at July 13, 2007 11:54 AM