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Many Utahns are cutting back on little luxuries due to lack of confidence in the economy and the fluctuating market. We talked with several small businesses about how business is not booming.
It's the little luxuries that go first. Personal pampering, weekend getaways and house cleaning top the list. Those businesses have had to trim employees, cut back hours and are hoping the economy turns around soon.
The phone is not ringing as much as Sylvia Alonso would like it to. She works with Merry Maids, a house cleaning service. Alonso says six months ago business was doing just fine, but now she can't even count on regular customers.
"We have had customers who have canceled service. Some say, ‘My husband lost a job, I can no longer afford it.' And if they are going to cut back, they are going to cut back on their cleaning versus their dining out or their vacations once a year. So we have lost customers to that," she explains.
Numbers show people are cutting back on dining out, too. According to a consumer research firm, 45 percent of Americans are eating out less this year to save money. Sales of cookbooks, inexpensive cookware and basic foods for meals are up.
We called about a half a dozen different spas in the city and all admit business is slow, including Breathe Day Spa in Sugarhouse.
Greg Dickerson says, "We've seen a shift of when people find time for services and how often they find time for services."
Massages, pedicures, manicures and facials all are considered luxuries that are the first to go when the budget gets trimmed.
One business we found that is not struggling in Utah: high-end hotels, like the Grand America and Deer Valley Resort. Over the phone, an official with Grand America said that even though it is a luxury hotel, compared to other luxury hotels across the country, the Salt Lake location is a bargain for high rollers. Most luxury hotels can cost upward of $1,000 a night. At Grand America, rooms start in the low $300s.
We also found even the richest of rich are cutting back. In a survey conducted by Alpharetta of the wealthiest 10 percent of Americans, more than half said they had reduced spending in the last year or plan to reduce spending in the year to come.
E-mail: abutterfield@ksl.com
