Bentleys and Hermès bags are selling again. Yet the wealthiest Americans are emerging from the financial downturn as different consumers than they were.

Lyndie Benson says she now mentally calculates the "price per wear" of designer clothing. As the wife of saxophonist Kenny G, Ms. Benson, a photographer, can afford what she wants. She used to make a lot of impulse purchases, she says. But when shopping in Malibu, Calif., recently, she stopped herself before buying a gray Morgane Le Fay suit she'd tried on. "I walked outside and thought, 'Hmmm, I don't really love it that much,' " she says with contentment.

A number of surveys released in the past six weeks suggest Ms. Benson's new selectiveness is widespread among the wealthiest Americans. Though many of these people might seem unscathed by the financial crisis—they didn't lose their homes, jobs or retirement savings—they were deeply affected by what took place around them. "If you're conscious at all, it just seeps in," Ms. Benson says.

What's showing up in the latest research is a broad-based caution—a sudden aversion to salespeople, a tepid response to ads focused on brand images, and a new interest in price-shopping. In Harrison Group's first-quarter survey of consumers with a median income of $275,000, 38% said they wait for items to go on sale, versus 31% in 2010.

Indeed, obtaining discounts on luxury goods has become a competitive sport among many well-to-do consumers, including Jim Taylor, vice chairman of the Waterbury, Conn.-based Harrison Group. Though he is wealthier this year than last, he recently spent a week comparison-shopping for a suit. He ultimately bought his Michael Kors suit on Overstock.com for $185.