For years, dietitians have urged Americans to practice mindful eating. Eat slowly. Savor every bite. If eating chocolate cake, make sure it's really good chocolate cake. Now, as the country slogs through the worst recession in decades, consumers are increasingly taking a similar approach to spending.

The change shows up every month in retailers' dismal sales. On Tuesday, the National Retail Federation said retail sales are expected to drop 0.5% this year, the first annual decline since the NRF started tracking sales in 1995.

"Most of the consumer behavior we saw in 2008 will continue well into this year," says Rosalind Wells, NRF's chief economist. "Shoppers will be seeking value and trading down to discount and off-price retailers in order to stretch their purchasing power."

Even though spending is expected to increase in late 2009, no one's predicting a return to the devil-may-care shopping from earlier this decade. Now, when consumers spend, they're paying more attention to what they buy. And this shift toward more cautious spending is likely to last.

Sales of furniture and clothing have been plummeting, with retailers in those sectors posting double-digit sales declines. On Monday, Home Depot announced plans to close its 34 Expo design stores, which sell high-end home decor items.

Essentials, such as food, health and beauty aids are selling, but even there, consumers are shifting to less-costly store brands. Consumers are still buying an occasional video game -- an industry that's proved to be largely recession-proof -- but sales of big-ticket items, such as cars and vacation packages, have fallen off a cliff.

To survive, retailers are battling to convince these new, mindful spenders that their products deliver long-term value, not just empty calories.

"How smart you shop has become a new status symbol," says Eric Gustavsen, co-founder of New York-based design firm Graj + Gustavsen.

While the downturn is cited as the main reason for dreary retail sales, other factors are also at work. Many have realized that it's not necessary to buy new vehicles or furniture every few years, unless the car dies or the springs give out on the couch. With vehicle sales down 18% last year -- the biggest drop since 1974 -- it's auto repair shops that are expected to thrive. And after years of recreational shopping, many Americans are starting to realize there's no more room in their closets.

Christine Jonard, 36, of Columbus, Ohio, meets regularly with local mothers to swap clothes and toys for her three children, ages 5, 3 and 1. With the exception of Christmas gifts, she can't remember the last time she bought a toy. "We have too much stuff," she says. "Plus, we don't have any money, probably because we have too much stuff."

Katherine Motley, 36, of Phoenix, started organizing clothing swaps in her community about a year ago because she was looking for low-cost ways to outfit her seven children. She says she's spent less than $100 on clothes in the past year. She believes the interest in swaps will outlast the recession: "People who are like-minded will continue to do these swaps even when the economy recovers."

Speaking before NRF's annual conference this month, Carl Steidtmann, Deloitte Research's chief economist for consumer business, said the spending slowdown was predictable. After a spending boom like the one that occurred after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, he said, "You always see a return to simplicity."

Many consumers still have money to spend, Steidtmann says, "They just don't have the will."

Even high-income shoppers are cutting back, as shown by the sharp drop in sales of luxury items during the holidays, says Jim Harold, retail industry executive for Acxiom, a consulting firm.

Coach, manufacturer of luxury handbags, reported last week that sales at North American stores that have been open at least a year fell 13% during the quarter ended Dec. 27.