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Underwear Sales Foretell Economic Trends?
UPI
Conventional measures of the U.S. recession may be no more accurate than the underwear index, which charts sales of men’s underwear, a consumer researcher said.
The theory suggests that sales of men’s underwear are stable – as are sales of other necessities – but during financial downturns sales drop off.
“It’s a prolonged purchase,” Marshal Cohen, senior analyst with the consumer research firm NPD Group told The Washington Post. “It’s like trying to drive your car an extra 10,000 miles.”
The research firm Mintel started tracking underwear sales in 2003 and found 2009 sales will probably fall 2.3 percent. The group predicts the drop will slow for 2010.
They say underwear sales are a good predictor because, since hardly anyone sees it, people feel they can delay purchasing new pairs.
Even former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan gave the theory credence when he was interviewed on NPR two years ago, the newspaper said.
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vrbahs
2 months ago
16 comments
hmmmm.... so where's the underwear index today :-)
monteplus
2 months ago
40 comments
That is actually an interesting concept.....
Teri_Roarke
2 months ago
10 comments
i think the correlation is that normally, people buy underwear and replace them more frequently than is absolutely necessary. so when a man has plenty of extra money, he doesn't wait until his underwear are filled with holes to replace them (not sure I believe that, but that's another story!). so when the economy is bad and people have less money, men put off buying underwear until they are both filled with holes and falling apart (or if they're anything like my husband, their wives do).
ADORBOR
2 months ago
2 comments
this is ridiculous, what is the correlation between demand for pants and Economic Trends. Please you better come again!
erbunch1
2 months ago
2 comments
I just bought nine pairs Sunday, I had lost my job and starting with new underware in the interviewing process gives me an additional confidence. Go figure....what if all the people looking for work purchased new underware, think of the possibilities!
rich34232
2 months ago
888 comments
I heard this today on tv this morning. hey whatever it takes.