This is not a great showing, but not a poor showing. It is somewhere in between. Consumers are not splurging everywhere. It is a little here and there. The consumer is very selective. |
This is the pause that refreshes. This is not a doomsday scenario. |
This number together with the strong April employment performance assuages the fear that the economy was starting to decline. |
This past week retail chain store sales recovered nicely as consumers stocked up on consumable goods in preparation of the Super Bowl and continued to take advantage of seasonal clearance items. |
This past week retail chain store sales were affected by two key factors -- weather and the opening of the Olympics -- as consumers directed their attention to things other than shopping. |
This past week, sales once again reflected the Easter shift and the shifting weather patterns across the country. |
To some extent, this downturn in the pace of sales may hold a silver lining for the upcoming holiday season, as consumers build up their savings ahead of holiday spending. |
Uncertainty is always bad for retailers. And that uncertainty did not vanish with today's reports. |
Underlying demand continues to remain moderate with pockets of strength. The forces are looking better as you go to June and beyond. Maybe this is the last of the weaker reports before we start to see more strength. |
Until July, income growth has outpaced the added dollars spent on gas. But gas prices have risen much faster in August. Income growth still has to outpace the increase in gas prices to at least offset the negative effective on consumers. |
Wal-Mart is not a bellwether for the broader industry this season. The action isn't among their customers. |
We did see a boost from gas prices, we're also coming off a big surge in building materials. So there were some big swings in some components of the report. But broadly, even excluding the volatile cars component, the gain was 0.7 percent, which is still quite healthy. |
We have gone through a slowdown from the more robust pace of sales in the first-half of the year, but I think the slowdown was cause for some worry, not a real concern, ... Higher gasoline prices have taken the oomph out of the economy and spending. But without more conclusive evidence of a drop in discretionary spending, I would say the slowdown is more temporary than real. |
We have gone through a slowdown from the more robust pace of sales in the first-half of the year, but I think the slowdown was cause for some worry, not a real concern. Higher gasoline prices have taken the oomph out of the economy and spending. But without more conclusive evidence of a drop in discretionary spending, I would say the slowdown is more temporary than real. |
We saw softness in apparel and other seasonal merchandise in the latter part of March, ... While higher gas prices pinched tax refund money, consumers have also indicated that they traveled less to shopping centers. The impact from that aspect may not be huge but it was a factor. |