The business trend that unites Walmart and Tiffany & Co

After a four-year spruce-up, Tiffany & Co, an upmarket American jeweller,

reopened the doors of its flagship store

on New York’s Fifth Avenue to the public on April 28. At first glance, the grand unveiling seems conspicuously ill-timed. Hours earlier, the Bureau of Economic Analysis had reported that nominal consumer spending in America barely grew in March, amid stubbornly high inflation and a slowing job market.

Yet the throng of well-heeled New Yorkers who queued up on opening day to enter what Tiffany has modestly rechristened “The Landmark” hints at a more nuanced story. Hard economic times have, as in the past, pushed consumers of middling means to trade down to budget-friendly stores and products, boosting the performance of those businesses. Wealthy households, however, remain flush with cash, leaving businesses that cater to the affluent surprisingly buoyant. That has raised awkward questions for firms that offer their customers neither frugality nor luxury, but something in between.