Spend Shift

New spending patterns reveal how massive cultural value shifts can be recognized in today's consumer behavior and are remaking capitalism for the better.

In Spend Shift, John Gerzema, best-selling authorand expert on consumerism, and Pulitzer Prize¿ winning writer Michael D'Antonio travel acrossAmerica to document a renewal of hope andenterprise in the post-recession economy. Guidedby exclusive data from Young & Rubicam's vastsurveys of public attitudes, the authors find thathipsters in Brooklyn, entrepreneurs in Tampa, and veterans in Northern California are all returning to age-old values such as self-reliance, faith, and thrift

to redefine the "good life." These value shifts can be

seen in consumers as mindless consumption becomes mindful. Through focused spending, consumers are influencing a myriad of companies and hoping to make the world a little better with each purchase.

Packed with insights from global leaders in market psychology and communication, Spend Shift also features interviews with business leaders from over fifty companies who understand the changes now under way. At companies like Zappos, Ford, Etsy, SunRun, and RecycleBank, to name just a few, the authors find executives who are harnessing new technologies and old-fashioned customer-first practices to make their companies more relevant, more resilient, and more profitable. These examples, and many others, show that while the consumer psyche is changing even faster than the economy, companies can adapt and thrive. In the process, they may also feel a lot better about their impact on the communities they serve and on the planet they share with their customers.

Compelling and insightful, Spend Shift is essential reading for anyone interested in how societal values are changing and how businesses can connect with customers who vote with their dollars, every day.