Part of that middle-ground consumer arena consists of thrifty parents and their kids making ready for another September.
The Chicago show is considered a prime testing ground for consumer sentiment, more so than its rivals in Detroit and New York.
In its favour, the island has a population that is keen to buy the latest products, making it a good testing ground of consumer acceptance of new gadgets such as netbooks and phablets.
It might be more difficult to find common ground around consumer protection legislation as it related to big data privacy, Podesta admitted, but he expressed hope that they could find bipartisan sponsors.
Railroad operators and auto parts suppliers also gained ground, while consumer goods makers struggled.
But there were lots of state regulators who were going after this in a big way, lots of people on the ground, lawyers, consumer advocates, scholars, who saw what was happening, and the press didn't give them much attention," said former WSJ reporter Michael Hudson.
"People really want to see stuff happening on the ground and consumers are looking to their own community and looking for impact," Mr. Waters said.
Since then, however, the Conservative government has barred onshore windfarms and solar power from the mix, on the grounds of consumer cost.
BlackBerrys, made by Research in Motion, are gaining ground among consumers, Apple introduced a new iPhone on Friday, and Palm's Pre has received favorable reviews.
"After we put the nutrition labeling and the 'percent lean' on the ground products, consumers changed what they bought and started reducing fat," she continued.
According to the new methodology, every time a product's price rises too sharply, it will simply be removed from the index on the ground that consumers will be deterred by the expense and switch to other goods.
