Consumed : rethinking business in the era of mindful spending

With signs of an economic recovery on the horizon, companies need to take stock of the far-reaching changes incurred by the largest recession since the Great Depression.

Today's consumers are no longer comfortable leveraging their credit cards to fulfill their every desire and businesses have to face the fact that as the customer continues to change the economy will inevitably shrink.

So how will businesses compete and succeed in an age of mindful consumption?

CONSUMED is a forward-thinking look at how shoppers - and consumption - have changed, now and for the foreseeable future, and how businesses must rethink their strategies in order to thrive in this new economic landscape.

A worldwide study by Euro RSGC found the following: * More than a quarter of respondents believe their lives would be better if they owned fewer things. * 55 percent of Americans said they're deriving a sense of satisfaction from reducing their purchases during the downturn, and seven in ten global respondents say they feel good about reducing the amount of waste they create. * Nearly half of Americans have no intention of going back to their old shopping patterns, even when the economy rebounds. That's a seismic shift for a country that has long lived by the credo of "more is more." Brand experts Andrew Benett and Ann O'Reilly advise businesses on current and pending shifts in consumer behavior and what they must do to lead in this new economy.