With so much surrounding consumer confidence in flux, it’s not surprising that when consumer related updates come out, we’re prone to examine the findings closer. Recall, last week, we examined the U.S. Census retail numbers. We discovered that while consumers spent some in April, overall gains were modest in the categories that made the “winner’s circle.” The past few days have also sharpened up the picture after many retailers checked in with quarterly updates and results. While it’s impossible to detail everything that’s come out of these retailer updates, there are a few worth cherry picking. The first one on the list is Target.
On May 17, Target reported better-than-expected first-quarter 2023 earnings and reiterated its overall outlook for 2023. This is good news for Target and overall, in that higher earnings support the fact that consumers are still willing to spend some. It is also promising that the company’s outlook remains on track with few surprises expected in favor or against the forecast. But, within the past quarter, Target also dissected by month, revealing that February saw out-performance while March was slower. April numbers were down to the low-single digits late in the month.
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