Sep. 27--Given the Great Recession, many shoppers are acting like West Valley City homemaker Beverly Smith, and her actions illustrate the challenges retailers face.

"I base my shopping decisions on needs, not wants," said Smith, who has two teenagers and a 5-year-old boy living at home. "I don't buy the cheapest or the most expensive name brand. I look for quality so that things will last, and I always do my homework."

Before she buys, Smith researches products on the Internet. She also scouts online sales and ads in the Sunday newspaper. Her purchases are deliberate -- no impulse shopping -- and carefully timed. She bought a pair of shoes when her 5 -year old son began kindergarten but she's waiting until the weather cools before she purchases boots.

Nothing short of huge bargains are likely to attract her and many other shoppers, but they have to be distinctive, unlikely to be repeated or -- heaven forbid -- undone by a bigger price reduction the following week.

There are signs that consumers are itching to spend, but the motive that drove hundreds of thousands of Americans to take advantage of the Cash for Clunkers program and many others to buy houses in recent months had the advantage of being backed by thousands of dollars in incentives.

That's something everyday retailers can't match, even with their deepest discounts.

As recently as a year ago, Abercrombie & Fitch was the most popular clothing store among teens and college-age students, despite its higher prices. Yet as the economic downturn deepened, many shoppers turned to less-expensive stores, such as American Eagle Outfitters Inc. and Forever 21. After being hammered by revenue declines of nearly 30 percent when it refused to lower prices, Abercrombie relented this summer.

"I would characterize consumers as discriminating and seeking value, " said Marie Driscoll, a retail analyst with Standard & Poor's Equity Research. "In the aggregate, they are more cautious, asking, 'Do I really need it?' "

Audrey Turley, a 33-year-old mother of twin girls, said she often waits until the last minute to buy needed items. Recently she filled her shopping cart at a Salt Lake County Target store with clothing for her 20-month-old girls, but ended up putting back half the items.

"Before I get to the cash register, I ask myself again if this is really what my family needs right now," she said.

But after months of penny-pitching in this economic downturn, some consumers are finding other ways to spend that might pay off down the road.