More than ever, consumers will only make purchases that make them feel good about life.

I asked someone the other day what they wanted for Christmas. “Less,” they replied. “I’d really like someone to come in and sell all the things I don’t need, haven’t used and that I know I can live without.”

So has the financial downturn brought with it a paradigm shift in our attitudes to consumption? Is it a case of “no turtle doves, French hens or partridges in pear trees this year, thank you very much: we’ve all decided that we have enough stuff”?

There’s no doubt that in times of uncertainty we reach for things of comfort, rediscover past pleasures and reconnect with more traditional values (oh, what we’d give for banks to be sensible and steady like they used to be, rather than gung-ho and greedy as they became).
I don’t believe it’s the end of consumerism as we’ve known it, but I do think that it falls to those of us who directly serve and sell to take the lead and to adapt our offer to deeper emotional needs.

We all need some stability in our lives – something that anchors us. For most of us it’s our work. Physically it fills most of our day and emotionally it can be the place where problems with our personal relationships can be parked for a few hours, while we feel valued and productive.
However, when unemployment, or the fear of, sees that one stable thing disappear, we seek another haven. It’s at this point that the importance of our personal relationships returns to the fore.

The opportunity for us as retailers is to position our products, services and brands as the things that will better connect our customers to their friends and family and that will provide shared experiences that will be cherished for longer.

As an example, a sofa could well be the most important thing you ever buy for your home. You snuggle with loved ones, watch X-Factor as a family, eat your favourite curry, open presents and play charades at Christmas on it, while your kids clamber and climb in it and even make a den from it.

A sofa brings people together, facilitates good times and helps us reconnect, yet all I ever recall seeing is advertising that hails the latest and cheapest. This consumption at its shallowest is surely the most vulnerable in this downturn.

That’s why I’m sceptical about the Government’s ability to reignite the economy with tax cuts. More money in the pockets of our customers is a positive, but they’ll save not spend it – unless we can show them that our products will bring sustained pleasure to their life.
Talking of which, a recent survey, that will dismay fashion retailers, asked men what they preferred their partners to wear or what they looked best in. Nine out of 10 replied “nothing”.

So if less really is more and old-fashioned pleasures are the order of the day, we may just have the ultimate recession-proof business.

Jacqueline Gold, chief executive, Ann Summers