Have you noticed something weird? Everyone says Americans are getting squeezed.
Yet Americans keep shopping.
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They are still filling Costco carts with enough toilet paper to survive a minor civilization collapse.
They are still ordering things from Amazon at 11:47 p.m. that somehow seemed completely necessary at 11:39.
They are still eating out. Still traveling. Still buying cars. Still spending.
So what is actually going on?
I think the answer is pretty simple. Americans aren't stopping spending.
They're getting much more selective about where the money goes.
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And that is creating some fascinating winners and losers in American business.
Because when money gets tighter, people don't necessarily stop buying. They start asking: "Why should I buy this from you?"
That is a very different question. And companies are finding out that the answer needs to be pretty convincing.