A lot of businesses at the frugal end of the price spectrum have actually done comparatively a lot better than those with more sort of mid-range pricing, as that middle class bulge has traded down. In an odd coincidence, Ikea last month announced it would invest more than $2 billion to expand its presence in America just three days before Bed Bath and Beyond declared bankruptcy. Now those wallet friendly companies like Walmart and Burlington are losing sales from consumers at the bottom of the income ladder, as they cut back on basically all but the bare essentials. But they're more than compensating for that with sales for middle class consumers who typically tend to just buy a lot more items.