Target CEO says shoppers are pulling back, even on groceries
cnbc.com
Target CEO Brian Cornell says shoppers are pulling back, even on groceries, as they feel stressed about their budgets.
In an interview with CNBC’s Becky Quick that aired Thursday morning, he emphasized that the retailer has posted seven consecutive quarters of declining sales of discretionary items, such as apparel and toys, in terms of both dollars and units.
“But even in food and beverage categories, over the last few quarters, the units, the number of items they’re buying, has been declining,” he said in the interview.
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People are still buying cars and luxury goods though. This reads almost as a story of how our society is fracturing.
People cannot afford groceries or basics, but the new iPhone seems to sell pretty well.
It has titanium! How could not want to buy that! How innovative! It's a completely different experience in your hand, you've tried metal, plastic, even glass, but not... Titanium... So cool...
I worked in China for a couple years on a banking app for lending money. The middle class in large cities over there was interested only in social status. They would happily borrow insane amounts for the newest phones and biggest cars, when they couldn't afford a dinner for their kids. I know that what we did was predatory and exploitative, and on a scale unimaginable on European markets. Our marketing predicted a collapse of the target social class in 5-7 years... That was 4 years ago.
I'm certain other (western) markets experience similar progression - and exploits.
That's terrifying.
Tbf, without good public transport, many places in the US iirc, require good quality cars.