Retail sales pop 0.9 percent in April, a sign consumers still eager to spend
Placeholder while article actions loadRetail sales jumped 0.9 percent in April, a sign that consumers are still spending despite rising prices, according Commerce Department data released Tuesday. The broad-based increase drew on a burst of activity at car dealerships, where sales jumped 2.2 percent. Analysts said the steady sales increases of recent months show how consumers are weathering inflationary head winds. Walmart saw its revenue increase by 2.4 percent to $141.6 billion for the quarter, but the company’s favored measure of profit fell nearly 0.9 percent. “It just took some time in March and April to get wage costs in line with sales,” McMillon told investors.
washingtonpost.comOnce a retail giant, Kmart down to 3 stores after NJ closing
There’s even a canned recording that begins, “Attention, Kmart shoppers” — except it’s to remind folks about COVID-19 precautions, not to alert them to a flash sale over in ladies’ lingerie like days of old. Many of the shelves are bare, though, at the Kmart in Avenel, New Jersey, picked over by bargain hunters as the store prepares to close its doors for good April 16. Once it shutters, the number of Kmarts in the U.S. – once well over 2,000 – will be down to three last holdouts, according to multiple reports, in a retail world now dominated by Walmart, Target and Amazon.
news.yahoo.comConsumer confidence up slightly in July
U.S. consumer confidence was relatively unchanged from June to July, but remains at its highest level since February 2020, just before the coronavirus pandemic hit the U.S. The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its consumer confidence index inched up in July to 129.1, up from last month’s reading of 128.9.