Kurt Barnard
Kurt Barnard
clear economy evidence frightened happening list numbers point public saw today
What's happening is very simple. The numbers we saw today are clear evidence that the American public is shell-shocked to the point of being frightened over a big long list of circumstances surrounding the economy over which they have no power, no control.
compare cost impact large lost number pairs sales
You just can't compare the impact of a large number of sales of flashlights, which may cost $2 to $4, with lost sales, for example, of hundreds of pairs of shoes, each costing $50 to $200.
july maybe numbers sales
July sales numbers are not going to be very good, maybe a tad better than they would have been without the checks,
air hot number
If this is a hot summer, we are going to see an overwhelming number of air conditioners sold, ... And even if it's not a hot summer, air conditioners will be a hot seller.
buying came consumers continued figures last numbers october robust though year
Consumers in October continued on a buying spree, propelled by a very robust economy, ... Many came through with better figures than last year, even though last year the numbers were also very good.
generators numbers today
The numbers today are nothing other than big generators of yawns.
august confirm consumer decade importance numbers outside quite retail sales slowing spending surprising trend
It wasn't surprising really. The August same-store numbers really confirm the trend of slowing retail sales and consumer spending, ... August was the back-to-school that wasn't. August and back-to-school doesn't quite have the importance it did a decade ago, but outside of that make no mistake, consumer spending has slowed down and Americans are tapped out.
cautious consumers doubt good holiday indicator last moderately news number paycheck price saying season shopping waiting
Wal-Mart's news is a very big deal. There's no doubt that a significant number of consumers are shopping paycheck to paycheck. Most are also waiting for price reductions. So saying that the consumer is still cautious is a good indicator that the holiday season will only be moderately better than last year.
cautious consumers doubt good holiday indicator last moderately news number paycheck price reduction saying season shopping support tax waiting
Wal-Mart's news is a very big deal, ... There's no doubt that a significant number of consumers are shopping paycheck to paycheck. Most are also waiting for price reductions because they know that the support of another tax rebate or tax reduction is unlikely. So saying that the consumer is still cautious is a good indicator that the holiday season will only be moderately better than last year.
basically climate confirm consumer employment inevitable numbers predicted remains simply spending stagnant time
Today's (consumer confidence) numbers do very little other than to simply confirm what we had predicted some time ago, that a consumer spending slowdown is basically inevitable so long as the employment climate remains as stagnant as it is,
anytime asking bombarded buying decent good head hear income jobs laid listen means number people question radio voice
Americans are being bombarded with announcements of layoffs. Anytime you listen to the radio it's always 3,000 laid off here, 500 there, ... That means a lot of people who have decent jobs and good income hear that little voice in the back of their head asking the question 'could my number be up next?' They're buying what they need, but they don't buy frivolously.
effect events foolhardy housing number pensions point send spine ways
Oil, jobs, housing prices, unfunded pensions and geopolitical events that could go any number of ways will have an effect in 2006. At this point it's foolhardy to forecast. Any one of those things could send shivers up the spine of consumers.
against beyond easier fueled heavy july last numbers period retailers school situation year
These numbers come on the back of heavy discounting. The back-to-school period also fueled results. Beyond that, the situation last year in July wasn't good. So retailers were up against much easier comparisons.
gap time
What the Gap is doing is not only what it must be doing, but what it should have done a long time ago.