• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, April 30, 2009

As the recession grinds on, consumers continue to refine their skinflint ways, making it harder for retailers to keep their attention. But one thing is becoming clearer: Every time shoppers do open their wallets, they gain a little bit more power.

"We've identified this as the 'era of the shopper," says Michelle Barry, SVP of The Hartman Group, a consumer culture research firm based in Bellevue, Wash. that is in the midst of a new study on consumers' attitudes about shopping. "We expected we'd find consumers a little beat up or desperate. But so far, we're seeing that consumers have a tremendous amount of optimism and resilience about their own situations. They may be spending less in certain categories, but they have not given up on their lifestyles. They are not making as many tradeoffs as we would have thought."

In fact, adds Michael Kassab, SVP at GfK Custom Research North America, which is conducting the syndicated research with Hartman, "shoppers are motivated and resourceful. They seem to be using this downturn to sharpen their skills, shopping more frequently, and more purposefully. They're utilizing the downturn to be better shoppers."

The best evidence of this new muscle-flexing, says Barry, is the way consumers are so deftly changing the channels they shop in. "The shopping universe is no longer dictated by manufacturers and retailers, and the power is being transferred to shoppers. They want to be more in control of their destiny," she says. So yes, "they're giving up their dog walker and the housecleaner," she says. "But they won't give up designer clothes -- they won't buy them at a department store, but they'll find them at a discounter, like TJMaxx." Nor do those less-expensive clothes feel like a come-down, she says: "It feels like a win."

"Shopping is still a strong source of entertainment, and the thrill of the hunt is more important than ever," she says. "It seems to be an antidote to the anxiety people are feeling. Even though mall traffic is down, there's still a lot of browsing and window shopping."

The losers in this blurring of channels, of course, are the retailers, trying to figure out how to connect with such savvy shoppers. "Retailers are interested in the store as a medium, but this is a delicate subject," she says. "Shoppers have really undergone a massive shift. They want to be engaged and entertained, but they don't want more clutter. Shopping provides a kind of theater, and retailers are struggling to figure out the script. What will hold shoppers' interest? What are the most relevant displays? What enables one store to stand out from another?"