Like the rest of the U.S. population, HomeTrend Influentials are consciously and intentionally cutting back on discretionary spending. In December 2008, fully 87% of the HIPsters reported that they had made changes in their spending habits as a result of the economic situation. 

The first change many HIPsters made was to cut down on the number of times they go out to dinner.  In June 2008, almost half of the HIPsters reported that they were eating out less often than they had been two years before.  HIPsters aren't alone in this: According to WSL Strategic Retail, cutting back on dining out is the Number 1 or Number 2 money-saving move for Americans, no matter what their income. 

Some of the most recent monthly indicators from the National Restaurant Association suggest that Americans might be loosening the purse strings a bit when it comes to eating out.  The association's Restaurant Performance Index (RPI), a monthly composite index that tracks the current overall health and outlook for the industry, was at 97.7 in March. While any index score below 100 indicates contraction -- and March marked the 17th consecutive month below 100 -- the 97.7 reading was up 0.2% from February, and the RPI has risen 1.3% over the last three months.

Just because Americans might be eating out a little bit more than they did six months or a year ago does not mean that they are going to go back to their old pre-recession habits.   

Why not?  HIPsters (and by extension, mainstream Americans) are not preparing dinners at home more often and eating out less often just because they want to save money.  Yes, a number of HIPsters are preparing dinner at home more and eating out less often strictly to save money.  However, equally as many are preparing dinner at home more and eating out less for strictly health and nutrition reasons and many others are preparing dinner at home more often and eating out less for both reasons: they want to save money and they want to eat healthier.  

Because the trend away from eating out and toward preparing meals at home is not being driven simply by economics, it is a trend that will continue long after the recession is over.  And that is good news for manufacturers and marketers of such  products as cookware, bakeware, mall kitchen electrics, and kitchen tools and gadgets.