LI companies say consumers spending warily

Long Islanders have been spending cautiously this summer, local businesses say, a pattern that echoes weak economic growth in the nation in the second quarter.

On Friday, the U.S. Commerce Department reported that the U.S. economy grew at a slow 1.5 percent annual rate from April to June. Nationally, consumers and businesses tightened their purse strings, adding to growing worry that the country's recovery is coming to a standstill.

Small-business owners on the Island, such as Marilyn Schulman, owner of the Willy Nilly Trading Co. gift store in Bay Shore, said customers have spent less in recent months.

"I'm seeing a tightening up from May; I see softening in sales," Schulman said. "We still have the same traffic, people seem to want to be out, but they're looking for bargains."

Ginny McClean, owner of Have You Heard, a wedding invitation store in Bellport, reported that sales of invitations were down this season compared to 2011. She also noticed that people were putting off buying invitations until later.

"They think, 'We'll wait to order invites,' because they need to use that money for another part of the wedding that won't wait," McClean said.

Jason McNally, 27, an ambulance operator in Lindenhurst, said he's been much more careful with his spending this summer than he was last year.

"I've been trying to save with everything that's going on with the economy. If I were to buy something, I'd buy something that was a necessity," he said. "The last thing I bought for myself was a video game, and that was about six to eight months ago."

Economist Pearl Kamer predicted that Long Island's economy would continue to parallel the national economy and see slow growth through the rest of the year.

"People are saving money at the gas pump, they're saving money on energy and they're pocketing the difference there," said Kamer, of the Long Island Association business group. "They're not spending their savings. The consumer has become very cautious. I think it's reflected in their spending, and they know that the local job market has been weak."

Until a few weeks ago, many economists had been predicting that U.S. growth would accelerate in the final six months of the year. Europe's financial crisis and a looming budget crisis in the United States are expected to weigh on the economy.

"People are very guarded about when and how they spend their money, and I can't blame them, everyone's in the same pickle," McClean said.

With AP