We're already seeing heavy markdowns particularly in apparel, |
We're already seeing heavy markdowns particularly in apparel. |
We're at an extremely dangerous situation where home heating bills could be shockingly high this winter, ... This is very bad news especially in the northeast part of the country, where the population represents a pretty big chunk of national retail sales. |
Weaker spending on seasonal goods has been building up for four months now. The two factors hurting consumers particularly at the low- and middle-income levels are that wages have not grown and gasoline prices could go even higher. |
Wet Seal is a turnaround situation that has been helped by strong industry vendor credit support and solid communications with their vendors. |
What's holding up the consumer is habit. Until things change in a very material manner, American consumers won't alter their shopping habits significantly. The jobs market is strong and there's been a little bit of improvement in wage growth. I still don't believe that gas prices are high enough to derail consumers. If there is one thing that could shake consumers it's the housing market and not gas inflation. |
Where there is pressure there is change, universally. |
Will the anticipation of more expensive bills hurt holiday sales? I don't think so. I think consumer spending will see more of a marginal change rather than a substantial change, primarily at the lower-income level. |
With Christmas Eve falling on a Friday, sales have the potential of being very intense. |