Changing Spending Habits:

Bruce Horvitz’s USA Today article highlights a sea change in how consumers are evaluating purchases. For all the negative press, the US is still a 13Trillion Dollar economy. People are still out there buying however restaurants have to give them a reason that alleviates their pain when visiting.

Most consumers actually feel more pain from these small cuts than from big ones. You miss your daily java jolt a lot more than, say, a new car you'd only hoped to buy sometime this year.

Small cuts can also have a big effect on the economy. If cutting back becomes a cultural mind-set, it can be very hard to turn around.

"The new status isn't how much you've got, but your ability to show what you don't spend," says futurist Watts Wacker, who advises businesses on trends.

"This is a seminal moment. It's not a fad that will die out when the economy picks up."

Trends guru Faith Popcorn puts it this way: "It's cooler not to spend."

When it’s cooler not to spend many businesses will feel pain if they do not heed the wisdom of providing an exceptional customer experience.