I enjoy shopping from time to time but in the US, people had become obsessed with shopping. Shopping became an activity and Americans had to have the freedom to shop 24x7 and buy every day or else their lives would end. One upside to the recession is that Americans might start to re-think what's important versus just shopping. I had my own personal recession a few years ago and as painful as that may have been, shedding the fixation on "stuff" and shopping was a positive change. Stuff is just stuff.
Outgoing Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott said the recession may have caused a "fundamental change" in the incessant shopping habits of Americans - which will hurt retailers but will benefit society as a whole.
Scott, citing his recent meeting with young shoppers, said many had given up eating out, going to the movies and shopping.
"Everyone has given up something and said how good they felt about it," he said. "I think in some ways it is healthy [for society], even though for us retailers it's not good."
