Grocery shoppers at Walmart are cutting their budgets. Customers of AT&T are paying their charges more slowly than normal. The demand for devices has dramatically decreased, according to Best Buy. Right now, major firms offer a bleak portrayal of the future of the economy.
Walmart raised the alarm about its customers’ inability to afford anything outside essential supplies on Monday. Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said in a statement that “rising levels of food and gasoline prices are affecting how customers spend.” The owner of Ben & Jerry’s and Dove soap, Unilever, contributed to the picture on Tuesday. CEO Alan Jope stated that the company’s “peak cost inflation” will not occur until later this year, implying that consumers will continue to confront high prices.
Shops aren’t the only ones concerned. The likely slowing of consumer spending in the next months will impact on internet giants and social media companies. Advertising, a key source of income for firms like Snap and Meta, is sometimes reduced when companies make cost cuts in preparation of slower development.
While consumer spending is still expanding and unemployment is still at historic lows, there are worrying indicators for the US economy. The headline inflation rate reached 8.6 percent in July, the highest level since 1981. Although many analysts believe that inflation has peaked, price hikes are most certainly here for the foreseeable future. Additionally, there is mounting indication that many people’s pandemic savings are reaching their limits. The rest of this year is predicted to challenging.
Despite this grim outlook, there is encouraging news. Certain department stores like Target are overstocked with items home goods, and electronics as global supply lines finally catch up with the excessive customer demand witnessed earlier this year. As retailers work to reduce their overstocked shelves, customers may find more deals and witness major brands competing with less priced store brands for their business.
However, these things are being discounted for a purpose. Because of the change in consumer spending from commodities to services, consumers don’t want them. Additionally, a small reduction from time to time is unlikely to boost Americans’ perceptions of the economy given that inflation affects everything from housing to food to gas prices.
Link: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/jul/28/us-economy-gdp-second-quarter
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/us-economy-contracts-again-fueling-recession-fears/ar-AA103Ut2
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/07/30/earnings-econ-recession/
Walmart raised the alarm about its customers’ inability to afford anything outside essential supplies on Monday. Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said in a statement that “rising levels of food and gasoline prices are affecting how customers spend.” The owner of Ben & Jerry’s and Dove soap, Unilever, contributed to the picture on Tuesday. CEO Alan Jope stated that the company’s “peak cost inflation” will not occur until later this year, implying that consumers will continue to confront high prices.
Shops aren’t the only ones concerned. The likely slowing of consumer spending in the next months will impact on internet giants and social media companies. Advertising, a key source of income for firms like Snap and Meta, is sometimes reduced when companies make cost cuts in preparation of slower development.
While consumer spending is still expanding and unemployment is still at historic lows, there are worrying indicators for the US economy. The headline inflation rate reached 8.6 percent in July, the highest level since 1981. Although many analysts believe that inflation has peaked, price hikes are most certainly here for the foreseeable future. Additionally, there is mounting indication that many people’s pandemic savings are reaching their limits. The rest of this year is predicted to challenging.
Despite this grim outlook, there is encouraging news. Certain department stores like Target are overstocked with items home goods, and electronics as global supply lines finally catch up with the excessive customer demand witnessed earlier this year. As retailers work to reduce their overstocked shelves, customers may find more deals and witness major brands competing with less priced store brands for their business.
However, these things are being discounted for a purpose. Because of the change in consumer spending from commodities to services, consumers don’t want them. Additionally, a small reduction from time to time is unlikely to boost Americans’ perceptions of the economy given that inflation affects everything from housing to food to gas prices.
Link: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/jul/28/us-economy-gdp-second-quarter
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/us-economy-contracts-again-fueling-recession-fears/ar-AA103Ut2
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/07/30/earnings-econ-recession/
