Hints and tips:
...The grocery chain operator said consumers had responded well to its lower prices and promotions. BJ’s Wholesale Club, the operator of membership warehouse clubs, was up 7 per cent....
...as shoppers prioritise groceries and health and wellness products....
...Average peak discounts for apparel sold online are up from 19 per cent to 25 per cent, it found, while markdowns on televisions are up from 10 per cent to 24 per cent....
...Shares of American Eagle Outfitters fell almost 14 per cent after the apparel retailer cut its outlook as consumer demand weakens....
...To win back investors, it needs to refocus on its core trade: selling cheap groceries and household supplies to lower income shoppers....
...That strength may be showing up in some pockets of inflation, such as hospital services (up 1.5 per cent in September) and apparel (0.7 per cent)....
...In addition, it has nearly 13,000 bricks-and-mortar stores across the country selling affordable apparel....
...Sales growth in the group’s grocery unit partially offset declines in apparel, seasonal and home products divisions....
...And their hope is that they can get people to spend money on groceries, on food, but also to spend money on some of their discretionary products, like household goods, like apparel, which has a higher profit...
...Louis Ashworth, apparel designer Vogue’s cover story about Lauren Sanchez, media personality and Mrs Jeff Bezos-to-be, was a perfect profile....
...Food and apparel retailers, restaurants and airlines could soon find that the financial wriggle room of some better-off consumers is shrinking as they prioritise financial resilience over spending....
...The group’s grocery unit spent much of the year trying to pass on higher costs to retailers and cautioned that 2023 would be “another year of cost recovery”....
...Price growth slowed in May in 10 out of 18 categories tracked by Adobe, including electronics and apparel. But inflation in grocery prices accelerated, rising the most of any category....
...The company’s sales are still below pre-pandemic levels in some European markets but Primark said this was often because the overall apparel market had contracted and that its share of the market had actually...
...“The increasing levels of food and fuel inflation are affecting how customers spend, and while we’ve made good progress clearing hardline categories, apparel in Walmart US is requiring more markdown dollars...
...The stockpiling strategy backfired when consumers such as me started to divert spending to essentials such as groceries....
...Socks might seem like an afterthought, thrown in the trolley along with the weekly groceries, but it’s worth spending a bit more cash — say upwards of £15 for a well-made pair — and more thought on what...
...When it came to the company’s other divisions, which drove the revenue uplift against 2019, sugar, agriculture, and ingredients posted higher profits, with the grocery division the outlier....
...Online apparel retailers fare worst, with a McKinsey survey finding that returns stood at about a quarter of sales. The survey found that reintegrating returns was not a high priority....
...However, Target reported that from early March sales across apparel and homeware had suffered a rapid slowdown....
...colours made it harder for them to find alternatives when items they wanted were unavailable than in other categories.Pent-up demand and supply chain-driven shortages pushed online prices for appliances and groceries...
...Apparel groups’ shares have been particularly hit....
...The issue with Kohl’s, which has some bearing on both Target and Walmart, is that the category where Americans really are pulling back their spending is apparel....
...On a comparable basis, fourth-quarter sales at Walmart’s US stores were up 5.6 per cent, helped by robust demand in the food, apparel, automotive and health categories....
...Grocery stores also registered gains, a sign of continued demand for food consumed at home. Sales in the food services category, which includes bars and restaurants, were flat....
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