Slump in Big Purchases Clashes With Government’s Strong Consumer Data
- Sales of appliances, orthodontics and boats weaken, firms say
- US needs Americans to keep up spending to avoid recession
This article is for subscribers only.
Makers of refrigerators, boats and teeth straighteners say US consumers are shunning big-ticket items, defying the macro economic reports on spending.
Shoppers think long and hard before buying a motorized vehicle or washing machine, and they are increasingly reconsidering them. That’s a bad sign for a US economy that has been kept afloat — and out of recession — by the willingness of Americans to keep spending despite high inflation and interest rates.