Of all the news to make retailers sit up and take notice about what's happening to the Australian consumer, it wasn't the bad news from the David Jones department store last week that would be of most concern.
On the contrary, it's arguably the positive news from travel agency Flight Centre.
It's all too easy to be swept up in a whirlwind of negative news sparked by a profit downgrade, particularly from a one-time market darling like David Jones.
Stocks across the retail sector were widely sold off as the ''new frugalism'' which outgoing Woolies boss, Michael Luscombe, described earlier this year, appeared to have become out-and-out penny hoarding.
Yes, conditions are tough, as most retailers have acknowledged for the past six months. And yes, for the likes of DJs, they have become ''unprecedented''.
But, while DJs now expects a slump in sales to its traditional well-heeled customers and profits coming in well below last year's number, Flight Centre told a different tale.
Australia's largest travel agency said its profit was going to be better than expected as customers cash in on the strong dollar and a view that an overseas trip is a staple, not a luxury.
Consumer confidence may be down locally but shoppers are locking into the idea that they are not going to squib on their annual holiday.
Are they penny pinching elsewhere to save for the trip? Perhaps.
But to labour that point would be a disservice to the discerning consumer. A better question to ask is whether retailers are being abandoned for a better offer.
While common wisdom centres on a once-in-a-generation mining boom, many Australian adults would consider the opportunity of travelling while the Aussie dollar is better than parity with the greenback as a once-in-a-generation event of its own, particularly those of us who have tried to have a good time in Britain at 30 pence to the dollar or the US at 50¢.
Shoppers may well have concerns about things like the impact of a carbon tax, the levels of indebtedness in the household, and fears about a second round of the global financial crisis. But those things are still just issues of confidence. Conditions have not changed that much recently.
Unemployment is still low. Families have enough money to afford a big-ticket holiday. Increasingly, according to Flight Centre's boss, Graham Turner, they would prefer to take that holiday overseas.
And guess where that means they're not spending those dollars?
Flight Centre's upgrade suggests that we still have the means but we are not going to spend where we don't see value. And that will spook local retailers, particularly with forecasts of a high Australian dollar remaining the norm for some time.
The strength of the Australian dollar should be bringing prices down in Australian stores. But worried retailers are busy trying to protect their margins.
The constant ''on sale'' routine week after week creates a sense of deflationary expectations. Why buy now when it will be cheaper in a few weeks? Australian retailers have created a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Then there's the added lure of waiting to shop when we go to New York.
It's not as if consumers have reason to be loyal. Shoppers have long been taken for a ride by Australian retailers. Cosy duopolies in many categories have happily made hay from customers who have enjoyed little choice.
So if a cautious consumer is choosing to take advantage of a strong dollar, it's a question of a reallocation of resources where they want to spend them.
Retailers have failed to deliver an attractive proposition to Australian shoppers, and have failed to recognise the increasing threat to their dominance from online.
The internet has delivered unparalleled price transparency to shoppers who can see not just what shops around the corner are charging but what goods are costing overseas.
With the tax benefit of being GST free, and the increased perceived security of shopping online, buying on the internet from overseas is an attractive alternative.
Shoppers have never had more information at their disposal and their willingness to use it is hurting retailers. It is common practice for shoppers to try things on at the mall and buy them online.
Bricks and mortar retailers can expect sales to come under pressure. That hurts margins, profits, jobs, spending and the rents collected by big landlords such as Westfield.
The retail infrastructure environment is under structural pressure. Markets will always see attempts to remove inefficiencies. And in this case it's some of the built-in cost of bricks and mortar shops.
Ironically, that's not something we should gloat about next time we bypass a local store to get something cheap online.
Retail represents a significant chunk of Australia's economy. It is the largest employer in the country. Take out a chunk of sales in the retail pie and the risk grows of a flow-on to employment.
We might all enjoy getting something cheaper. But at what point is it going to cost our sister, friend or partner a few shifts at the store?
With the Australian dollar forecast to remain high against the greenback for some time, local retail is in for some rocky realignment as the digital revolution makes its way through yet another industry.
