• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, March 23, 2009

Infectious Greed Editor Paul Kedrosky seems to think we as consumers are shifting to the exact opposite: prudent savings. And that, could be a very, very bad thing for ad spending, especially online ad spending.

Kedrosky predicted that online ad spending would contract 8% to 9% because of this fundamental shift in the consumer’s mindset, or what he calls, “The new normal.”

So why is the new normal so abnormally bad for the online ad marketplace? Because, he says, “we as consumers are worth less.”

Specifically, he says, we are saving more to pay down debt, but we are not spending more on the categories that are the underpinning for the online ad industry, things like automotive, finance, etc.