Annual consumer spending in the U.S. may decline by more than $1 trillion after the recession ends and shoppers adjust their spending habits, according to a survey conducted by AlixPartners LLP. Americans may save 14 percent of their earnings and focus on replenishing retirement savings, according to the survey of 5,031 people released yesterday. Last year, the savings rate was 1.6 percent, AlixPartners said, citing U.S. government statistics. The worst financial crisis since the 1930s has caused consumers to spend less on homes and cars and cut down on clothing purchases and restaurant meals. Companies will need to adjust volume projections and aggressively manage their cash and capital structures, according to Fred Crawford, chief executive officer of Southfield, Michigan-based AlixPartners, which advises companies on restructuring. “This massive reset will result in major changes in the economic landscape of almost every sector of business, from consumer-facing companies to suppliers of all kinds to raw- materials companies to financial-services organizations,” Crawford said in the statement. Almost a quarter of respondents said they may retire later than they previously expected and participants estimated their retirement savings had dropped an average of 25 percent, according to the survey. More than three-quarters of those surveyed said they plan to wait for sales before making purchases after the recession ends. Two-thirds generally will buy less, and more than half will purchase less expensive items. “The future may look more like the early 1980s than the mid-2000s,” Crawford said. Eighty-two percent of those polled said they will use their stimulus checks from the government to pay down personal debt or save the money. The AlixPartners Long-Range Economic Outlook Survey was conducted from Feb. 19 to March 3.

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