Sick and tired of all the bad news, research firm Sageworks decided to do a little snooping and found some fun facts that you won't see in any of the economic reports due out this week.
The Consumer Confidence Report came out Tuesday with sad news that consumer shopping remained as weak as bland tea in September, even after falling to depression-era lows in August.
Undaunted, the folks at Sageworks decided to find out just where the money's going. Turns out consumers ARE shopping their little hearts out. Just not where you think. Flowers are out and cars are "in."
After studying the financial statements from 10,200 CPAs and bankers , Sageworks learned a little bit about the taste of their clients.
Automobile dealers reported that sales are up nicely at 14.8 percent, while flower sales at florists fell half a percentage point in the last 12 months.
Gas stations saw a 14.26 percent uptick in sales over the last 12 months after seeing a pathetic 17 percent drop in 2009. Nice recovery.
All other categories of merchandise except flowers rose in the single digits.
Auto parts, furniture and clothing stores produced decent 8.43 percent, 7 percent and 6.8 percent rises, respectively.
