Wigs: Why are wigs going to make a comeback? Well.. regardless of your ethnic background, getting your hair done is expensive- in most cities a cut starts at $20, relaxers and blow outs at $40, and weavers and braids $100 and up. Women are already starting to cut back on beauty services and opting for at-home-beauty-products.  Wigs offer an easy, cost effective alternative to frequent trips to the beauty salon and, unlike coloring your own hair, requires little to no hair care skills. Plus top celebrities like Tyra Banks, Oprah Winfrey, Gwen Stefani and Jessica Simpson have been wearing lace front wigs, for years.

Plus Size Fashion: According to Women Wear Daily, plus size is one of just a handful of market segments that offers growth for the retail industry, which makes sense, as a poor diet often correlates to those with a low to middle economic status. In addition, many people will turn to comfort food as they look for ways to cope with financial and personal challenges.

Even “thin friendly” segments of the fashion industry are embracing the trend. Anna Wintour, Editor in Chief of American Vogue, recently praised the red carpet fashion of plus size grammy winner Adele, leading many to believe that a full figured model could make an appearance on the cover of Vogue this year. And the final hint that plus size is a major trend? Forever 21 is launching a plus size line this spring.

Garage Sales: While online auction sites, like eBay and Bonanzle, continue to thrive, so do old school garage sales.  There’s been an increase in the number of  weekend merchants, who often partner with their neighbors for community-wide sales and skip newspaper advertisement for free services like craigslist.

In New York, where space is limited, some women are talking it a step further, opening up their own closets to shoppers (Wall Street Journal). While clothing swaps continue to be a hot (for tips on how to hold a clothing swap, pick up a copy of my book “How to be Budget“).

- Prediction: Michelle Obama will redefine fashion and the role of African American women (and moms) in fashion and in the media. Within the last month, the first lady has appeared on the covers of People, Vogue (only the 4th black woman and 2nd first lady in history) and is the first person to share a cover with Oprah Winfrey on April’s O magazine.

- Wal-Mart will be the top store to watch as it will be the only store to successful address the challenges facing middle (and coastal) American families. According to Business Week, Wal-Mart posted a 5.1% increase in same-store sales, for February, while Target fell 4.1%. Furthermore, the publication notes that “same-store sales tallys by the International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs was down 0.1 percent for February; excluding Wal-Mart, it fell 4.3 percent.” Anecdotally we’ve noticed quite a few Zipcars in the parking lot of the Secaucus, NJ Wal-Mart.

- Michelle Obama will redefine fashion and the role of African American women (and moms) in fashion and in the media. She’s already inspired instant sell outs, cover stories, and probably helped saved J.Crew’s 4th quarter. Along with her husband, Mrs. Obama has inspired the recent collections of several TOP designers, including the use of more models of color. First Lady Michelle Obama will continue to have a major impact on fashion and what (and who is) considered fashionable.

- Wal-mart will be the top store to watch as it will be the only store to successful address the challenges facing middle (and coastal) American families. This isn’t to say that other stores can’t do the same, Target could if they focused less on being “cool” and more on being “cool AND useful”, but right now Wal-Mart is the only major mass market store which does not have to make fundamental changes in order to accomplish this goal.

- The Bon-Ton, Kmart, Sears, JC Penneys, and several sports apparel stores (Champs, Footlocker, etc) will all close or face bankruptcy. All of these stores, with the exception of K-Mart, depend on a mall environment to stay alive and the mall, as we know it, is dead. K-Mart has been dead for a while, so at this point we’re just waiting for the funeral.

- Big Lots, Salvation Army, Value City, Costco, Sams Club will all be hot stores in 2009. Costco will be VERY hot in 2009 and shoppers will find creative ways to get the most out of their membership, including membership co-ops.

- Lipstick, at home hair coloring systems, and nail color will be the big beauty sellers in 2009. These are quick, easy, and relatively inexpensive ways for people to change their personal style.

- The mall will die. Malls, as we know it, will be dead by the end of 2009 and shoppers will do a majority of their shopping online. The malls that do exist, will turn into outlet mall like structures (ex: the Bergen Mall in Northern New Jersey)- featuring the outlets of top retail brands. Even Saks Fifth Avenue, who for years have maintained a rigid distinction between its high-end stores and its outlet stores by referring to the later as “Off Fifth- Saks Fifth Avenue Outlets”, changed the name of their outlets to the equally cumbersome Saks Fifth Avenue Off Fifth.

- Moms will be marketing darlings. The marketing focus of several top brands will shift from the youth market to hip moms as more businesses realize that moms are the ultimate influencers, affecting the style and consumer habits of their kids, husbands/partners, and friends.

- Consumers will want darker, neutral colors. Gray, black, brown, red, and dark blue will continue to be the colors to watch as consumers look for easy to wear colors.

- And they will want machine washable fabrics. Easy to care for fabrics will reign supreme as shoppers look for items that are machine washable, thus saving a ton of money on dry cleaning.

- More designers will skip their bridge lines and head directly for mass market/lower priced lines. Rumors have already started about budget lines by Zac Posen and Doo Ri. Who I think might also do budget/mass market lines 2009: Ellen Tracy, Tory Burch, Paul Smith, Betsey Johnson, Vivienne Westwood, Stella McCartney (has done a mass market line before with Target-Australia), and Lily Pulitzer.

I’m mentioned in a story about the rise of online shopping by professional women who live in New York City. 

 Read the article.