Luxury spending still on the rise?

Parija Bhatnagar's Will luxury cool off? asks whether high-end sellers like Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, and Saks have reached their end. That is what Deloitte & Touche is predicting. "According to its research arm, the strong housing prices and dividend returns that kept wealthy consumers in the high-end aisle are going to disappear." Higher taxes and slowing growth of home prices are some factors that may cause this pinch. The index gauges future consumer spending with tax burdens, real wages, real home prices and unemployment. "Continutes job and real wage growth is needed to increase a household's pool of cash and to strengthen discount retailers' sales." Consumers' love affair with luxury items has made high-end retailers a favorite on Wall Street. Shares rose over 30 percent last year. Contrary to this is James B. Twitchell's "Living it Up: America's Love Affair with Luxury." In this book he talks about how consumer spending of luxury items has risen despite the economy's status. He goes on to tell of how high-end companies such as Mercedes-Benz are coming out with more economical models to cater to this demand. Rebecca Gardyn's article "Oh, THE GOOD LIFE" outlines this phenomenon.