Let Them Eat...iPads?

Well, they may be buying iPods, iPhones, and IPads, but if the following reports are any guide, it looks like Americans don’t have much money left for anything else, including school supplies –

“Back to School? Summer Season for Shopping Is Early This Year” (New York Times)

THIS year, for the back-to-school shopping season, it is, as a sage once said, getting late early out there.

Many retailers and advertisers are moving up the start of their sales and marketing campaigns devoted to children’s clothing, stationery, computers and other back-to-school merchandise. In at least one instance, ads that promote buying such items on layaway appeared in mid-June — when schools in several parts of the country were still in session.

The front-running of the back-to-school shopping season is not unlike how Madison Avenue has for years been advancing the start of the Christmas shopping season. Indeed, even as some retailers begin their back-to-school sales early, they are also sponsoring “Christmas in July” sales.

In both instances, the reason for getting an early start is the same: with an uncertain economy, the goal is to gather ye consumer dollars while ye may, even if it may peeve some tradition-minded shoppers. –

medical care –

“Health Insurers Keep Reporting Robust Profits” (New York Times)

UnitedHealth Group, one of the nation’s largest health insurers, reported its second-quarter results on Tuesday, and the good news for the industry looked as if it was likely to continue.

The company announced a double-digit increase in profits and raised its estimates for what it thought it would make for 2011, according to the company’s news release.

Once again, the high profits of the insurers appear to be partly the result of more budget-consciousness by their customers, even as the insurers ask for higher premiums. Many Americans seem to be putting off or forgoing medical care because of the weak economy and the increasing amount they are required to pay in medical bills as their deductibles and co-payments climb, as I wrote in a front-page article in May. –

and vacations –

“Economic Slump Curbs Americans’ Summer Travel” (Reuters)

Hit by the country’s economic slow-down, a majority of Americans do not plan to travel this summer, and most of those who will won’t be going far from home, according to a new poll.

Over a third, or 34 percent, of people surveyed in a Marist poll said that they had changed their travel plans to save money.

The telephone survey also showed that 55 percent of American adults won’t be booking any summer vacation plans at all, compared to 52 percent in the summer of 2010.

“We’re continuing to see the effects of the economic slump on people’s vacation plans” said Dr. Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist College poll. “People are reacting to the downturn and adjusting their vacation plans accordingly.”

Let them eat cake iPads?