Retailers Know Consumers’ Shopping Spree Won’t Last
Uncertainty and caution are the big messages from executives with their fingers on the pulse of household spending.
Caution ahead.
Photographer: Joe Raedle/Getty Images North AmericaThis article is for subscribers only.
Walmart Inc. kicked off this earnings season for major retailers with a poignant statement about what lies ahead: “We don’t know.”
On Chief Executive Officer Doug McMillon’s list of unknowns: the shape of consumer spending, incomes, layoffs and a recession. His caution has been echoed in call after call across the retail industry. Executives, bruised by the tumult of the past few years, brushed aside what were broadly better-than-expected earnings for last quarter to focus on a future rife with uncertainty.