Luxury retail is reliant on consumers' desire to buy expensive things. In good times, that's not a problem; in hard times, it can be difficult. It looks like consumers may be starting to pull back on spending, which would generally be bad news for a luxury brand like Ralph Lauren (NYSE: RL). But this iconic fashion company has some important tricks up its sleeve.

When reported third-quarter earnings, it noted that it was seeing increased traffic at its stores. So, too, are Ross Stores, TJX Companies, and Burlington Stores (NYSE: BURL). Basically, consumers appear to be looking for ways to spend less while still managing to buy stuff. On that score, there was an interesting commentary from Burlington, which noted that it was seeing success from bringing in name-brand goods that sell at higher price points.

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Source Fool.com