Home Depot’s recent announcement that it expects fiscal 2023 same-store sales to decline by as much as 5% — its first retreat since 2009 — may be a harbinger of things to come for the bricks-and-mortar retail universe as consumers shift their discretionary spending from goods to experiences. To make matters even dicier, the Federal Reserve’s most recent report suggests that last year’s inventory glut remains a stiff headwind, hovering just below its peak reading earlier this year.
That’s the sober reality behind the hopeful-sounding report from the Commerce Department that, after a two-month decline, retail sales rose slightly in April (0.4%), suggesting a turnaround might be in the works. Behind the headlines (“Shoppers Boosted Retail Sales”), a very different picture emerges.
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