By Becky Yerak
| During times of economic stress, consumers apparently hit the bars more
and patronize hotels, full-service restaurants and new-car dealers less
frequently.

Sageworks Inc., which analyzes financial data of privately held
businesses, examined six indulgence industries and found that only one –
bars — had an uptick in sales in 2009 on average.

They were up 4.1 percent, Sageworks said.

Five other industries saw downturns: hotels, 9.9 percent; full-service
restaurants, 2 percent; new car dealers, 12.5 percent; golf courses and
country clubs, 2.6 percent; and jewelry, luggage and leather goods
stores, 8.5 percent.

Sageworks aggregates and summarizes data it receives daily from
customers, largely financial professionals such as bankers and
accountants.

The numbers suggest that people turned to bars during periods of
unemployment stress and economic unrest over the past year, while more
pricey establishments such as full-service restaurants and hotels saw
less revenue coming in, said Drew White, Sageworks chief financial
officer.

But the recession has also been good for privately held technical and
trade schools, which saw an 11.7 percent rise in revenue in 2009;
sporting goods, hobby and musical instrument stores, up 4.3 percent; and
drug stores, up 3.3 percent, Sageworks said.