David Tinsley

I think the story is a good one.

The jobs growth, at least at the start of this year, had some real momentum behind it.

while lower-income households have wage growth of below 1%.

David Tinsley at the Bank of America Institute is starting to notice that a simple K-shape doesn't totally summarize the situation anymore.

According to January customer data, middle-income household spending growth was just 1%, compared to 2.5% for high-income households.

At Big Chalk Analytics, which works with retailers, restaurants and companies that make packaged goods, Rick Miller says he doesn't really think of spending as a straightforward K these days either.

Which is why he likes to split consumers up by whether or not they're making tradeoffs.

He says tradeoff consumers are actively cutting the size of the products they're buying, going for a 12-pack of soda instead of a 30-pack, for example.

They're also visiting more stores in search of the best deals.

So he says retailers are promoting their own store brands.

Jessica Ramirez is the co-founder of the advisory business, the Consumer Collective.

She says those who are still spending are focused on value, which means retailers are looking hard at the assortment of products they offer.

What does my assortment look like going forward?

So where is there going to be an opportunity?

How do I need to downsize my assortment in order not to take on losses?

She says among fashion companies, for example, their strategy this time around is not to mark everything down like they did in the last recession, but instead to plan inventories better to meet consumers where they are.

I'm Karla Javier for Marketplace.