Momentum toward the end of the month is a good sign heading into the holiday season. |
My concern is that the luxury market has topped in terms of spending growth after a two-year upturn. |
No doubt the financial markets are anticipating that something could change. Whether that happens this summer or later remains to be seen, ... There are some broader negatives in the economy right now but the they will take a long time to work through. For now, we can still get decent growth in profits even as costs rise. |
November's upward revision probably mitigates the miss in December but I think the total year-over-year sales comparison might be a better barometer. |
Now there's a shock. It's not just a penny this week and two pennies higher the week before. And the shock comes on top of the cumulative effect of all those pennies over all those weeks. |
October's sales performance highlights that there is underlying demand across sectors, and it remains relatively steady as we head into the holiday season, |
October's sales performance highlights that there is underlying demand across sectors, and it remains relatively steady as we head into the holiday season. |
Oil does factor in at some level. |
One of the key takeaways from today's report is the consistency of the underlying pace of consumer demand, which is holding up reasonably well if you ignore the auto component, |
One of the key takeaways from today's report is the consistency of the underlying pace of consumer demand, which is holding up reasonably well if you ignore the auto component. |
Our analysis of the leading sales indicator, ex-auto, suggests some slowdown now through the fall. So we could see some up and down results for the next few months, |
Our analysis of the leading sales indicator, ex-auto, suggests some slowdown now through the fall. So we could see some up and down results for the next few months. |
Our own surveys of 1,000 U.S. households over the past year indicates that more middle-income households are also cutting back spending to some degree, |
Our research told us that one-third of holiday shoppers would shop later in the season compared to last years. That certainly affected last week's sales and gave a lift to overall sales, |
Our research told us that one-third of holiday shoppers would shop later in the season compared to last years. That certainly affected last week's sales and gave a lift to overall sales. |