But some critics question whether merging companies struggling with weak commercial real estate portfolios and wary consumers might just create larger companies with bigger problems.

With consumers wary about the economy, overall instrument sales have been flat in the last three years, Mr. Majeski said.

Although the increase was a little larger than the 1.5 percent expected, it still reflects how wary consumers have become.

And even those of us who find big-budget pictures fun go selectively, after we've read a few reviews - like wary consumers.

The lackluster results seem to indicate that retailers are in for their third disappointing Christmas in a row, as wary consumers cut back on spending.

Valet parking, a luxury normally equated with the dining rich, is also available to the wary or weary consumer - for $3.

For consumers wary of an agent's pitch or eager to check up on their existing coverage, Price Waterhouse has new software.

They had to sell these vehicles to wary consumers who were unwilling or unable to pay 'cash' for the new purchase.

But the effectiveness can dwindle as the novelty wears off, as other advertisers move in, and as wary consumers develop defenses.

One trick to enticing wary consumers is to present furniture that looks comfortably familiar but transcends its regularity with a subtle shock of the new.