Now that the Great Recession is mostly behind us (although there will still be trouble spots and ups and downs in 2013), will shoppers be increasing their purchases of goods and services they “want” versus those they “need”?

According to a February 2013 article by Susan Reda for Stores.com: “A year ago, at least 90 percent of respondents cited 10 items they could live without, including manicures/pedicures and high-end cosmetics. This year those percentages are not quite as eye-popping: 86 percent consider a manicure/pedicure to be expendable and 88 percent deem high-end cosmetics to be something they can live without. Still, those figures are lower than the 90 percent and 92 percent, respectively, who earmarked these items as nonessentials 12 months earlier.”

What do YOU think?

Click the image to read more from Reda.