Are affluent shoppers ready to spend again?

Affluent shoppers who have seen their stock portfolios and bonuses recover somewhat in the past six months seem to be opening their wallets, based on the results of luxury retail during the fourth quarter. (Of course, the comp sales from 2008 were a disaster.) At the same time, those retailers have worked hard to provide some sale incentives to their affluent customers, in the form of enhanced loyalty programs, more value-oriented product development and so on.