…retailers - afraid of being stuck with even more unsold merchandise – don’t want to take a risk on selling products that seem too innovative or unconventional.

If this sounds counter-intuitive on the part of merchants when they are desperate to lift sagging sales, it is, said Marshal Cohen, chief retail analyst with market research firm NPD Group.

“Retailing is supposed to be synonymous with risk,” Cohen said. Merchants always should attract shoppers with new and exciting merchandise, especially at times when consumers are shunning stores, he said.

New and exciting, merchandise? Maybe the thrill of impulse shopping is gone.

Imagine  stores actually offering what people want! I was walking in Macy’s the other day with my mother. We were just window shopping and noticed that the Kitchen Aid stand mixer came in about 2 dozen colors. In my grandmother and mother’s day there weren’t many choices in color for mixers. Maybe Black, White, Yellow or Green. When I wanted the same mixer it was a challenge to find the color I wanted. Not any more. Variety, and choice are in.

The variety and daring of having a choice of blue, green, pink and other color mixers is important. How important this will be to consumers who are shopping now it is difficult to tell, because retailers want to stick with what is safe and what they can sell. If you look at some of the items that end up on the clearance rack, most of the items are those hideous colors and items that no one wants anyway. In some ways selling items that people actually want to buy and can use for more than a season when the color isn’t hip or trendy anymore will be better. How many people have ever said my black suit is too practical I’d rather have the citron one? Color is not bad, but when people are making choices with their money and they want to make a good choice, then they will most likely choose an item or items that will get the most use or wear.

Even if people have a lot of money but want to keep some of it they make good choices. A fashion color is called that because it may only be trendy for a season (or even less). This doesn’t mean that you have to live without any flair, but selection clothes and other items that will give you a good return on your purchase will help you make your money last longer. I’d much rather have a more expensive, classic item than a trendy one because the trendy one will not get the same life out of it.

The frugal choose items for longevity or comfort, not solely based on price. Let’s say you want to go to the baseball game and the difference in tickets for the same game over the course of the season is $50 but the seats are farther away and in the nosebleed section. The more expensive tickets may make you more comfortable and will only add 4 or 5 dollars to the price of each ticket. Being cheap and uncomfortable is not cool.