Financial Times FT.com

Revival hopes end middle-class frugality

By Andrea Felsted, Retail Correspondent

Published: October 23 2009 23:37 | Last updated: October 23 2009 23:37

The middle class’s flirtation with frugality appears to be fading as supermarkets change tack to focus on expensive product lines and discount stores see sharp declines in customer numbers.

While Friday’s gross domestic product data showed that the nation remains in recession, a number of chains are making a fresh push into premium product lines in the belief that old consumption patterns will reassert themselves when recovery is established.

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