Below is a new list of 7 things that consumers are still doing.  People are fixing their cars, remodeling their homes, and still making trips to the dentist.  While some consumer behaviors have changed, it is nice to hear that the world hasn’t stopped in the current economic climate.

 7 Things Consumers Are (Still) Doing:

• Auto repair shops grew their sales by an average of 2.4% over the last 12 months.
• In contrast, car dealerships saw their sales decline by 9.7% in the same period.

 2) Remodeling and fixing their homes instead of moving.

• Building equipment contractors (such as electricians, plumbing and heating contractors) saw their sales increase by 4.6% in the last 12 months.
• In contrast, home builders saw their sales decrease by over 5% in the same period.

 3) Shopping at grocery stores more than eating out.

• Grocery stores experienced average sales growth of 6.7% over the last 12 months.
• Sit-down restaurants saw growth of 3.9% in the same period.

 4) Attending technical and trade schools.

• Trade and technical schools saw their top-line sales grow by 7.8% in the last 12 months, compared to growth of 5.9% in 2007.

 5) Going to the dentist.

• The average dentists’ office experienced sales growth of 6.9% in the last 12 months, up from 4.9% in 2007.

 6) Getting personal care services such as haircuts and manicures.

• Hair salons, barber shops, nail salons, and skin care providers experienced an average of 4.5% sales growth in the last 12 months.

 7) Visiting an accountant.

• Accounting firms saw average top-line revenues grow by 10.2% over the last 12 months, putting the accounting industry in the top 20 industries in the country by sales growth.

It appears that recessionary forces have intensified in the 4th quarter for the private retail trade sector.

According to Sageworks Private Sector Index, both accounts receivable and accounts payable days are at a record high based on a study of month over month comparisons for the last three years.

The average number of AR days, or average number of days to collect on accounts due has increased 40% from previous Oct readings, up to 18.82 from 13.48 average days. AP days are also up from 22.50 average days to 31.88, an increase of 41%.

More means less in this case, and the jump in accounts receivables and payable days indicates that retail businesses are receiving payment for goods sold more slowly, while also paying down their own bills much later.

In a recent report from the WSJ, late payments from customers of privately held retail businesses have not only affected revenue collections from sales, but have also detrimentally slowed down payments to suppliers.

Several retailers from Sageworks Index reporting increased receivables include:

Managing receivables is a key to maintaining strong cash flow in a small business, and data from Sageworks, Inc. shows that retailers have been troubled with substantial decreases in cash flow over recent months.

According to Sageworks Index, cash flow for private retailers as approximated by the EBITDA margin is currently down -10.98% as of Nov 1 over the trailing three months.

Increases in AR and AP days may also indicate that businesses have extended credit to buyers and/or may be taking advantage of trade credits from suppliers, but underlying problems now in retail are more closely related to general economic conditions where consumers are more pessimistic than ever. The Oct Univ Michigan/Reuters Consumer Index reported the strongest monthly movement in over half a century, down 12.7 points to 56.7. IHS global economist Brian Bethune recently commented, “The economy is now navigating through the eye of the storm, with recessionary forces intensifying in the fourth quarter of 2008,”

In a recent recent blog post titled, “I Repeat: It’s Not Just A “Wall Street Bailout”

Brian Sullivan of Fox Business reminded readers that the housing crisis is not an island to itself, and explained that there are a number of industries that all benefit from home transactions. Sageworks data agrees, and shows that industries related to home building and housing have all been adversely affected by the crisis.

When Sageworks, Inc.’s data was mined for those privately held industries with the slowest sales growth over the last 12 months, it confirmed that a number of housing related industries such as furniture stores, lumber wholesalers, and building materials companies now rank among industries reporting the slowest sales growth in the US over the last 12 months.

Those Industries listed in the top 10th percentile for the slowest sales growth over the last 12 months includes the following:

Brian Sullivan also explained that consumer spending was 70% of the economy, and much of that was related to housing. Historically, the ability to borrow and spend has tracked closely with real estate prices. With that in mind, watch retail spending and especially the auto industry (see previous post), where the consumers ability to borrow is directly related to auto sales.