A flat June reading for retail sales can be a tossup in terms of getting a sense of how the consumer is faring. The data released Tuesday (July 16) may have come in better than expected — economists had been looking for a month-over-month decline...
Let’s start this article with a pop quiz. Name the country that had the highest digital engagement in 2023. You get to pick from a list of 11 countries that includes the U.S.; the U.K.; Australia; the five largest EU economies, France, Italy, Spain, Germany,...
Consumers were not shy about loading up on the cards in May. The latest data from the Federal Reserve, released Monday (July 8), show that overall, consumer credit rose $11.3 billion in June, far outstripping the $6.5 billion gain on an absolute and annualized basis....
As zillennials — the bridge generation born between 1991 and 1999 — grow into their prime spending years, their shopping habits are becoming increasingly influential in the retail landscape. This cohort, nestled between millennials and Generation Z, exhibits unique characteristics that set them apart from...
July 16, 2024
A flat June reading for retail sales can be a tossup in terms of getting a sense of how the consumer is faring. The data released Tuesday (July 16) may have come in better than expected — economists had been looking for a month-over-month decline of 0.3% — but digging into the numbers reveals some […]
June 26, 2024
Amid news that the U.S. job market is cooling, first-time unemployment claims are up and 64% of Americans now live paycheck to paycheck, comes this finding: One-quarter of those Americans...
June 25, 2024
July Fourth is just around the corner and, if you haven’t already done so, there is still time to make last-minute travel plans. But be warned: about half of Americans...
June 24, 2024
Although consumer spending dipped slightly last month, not all spending choices are created equally. While some consumers curtail spending by choice, others do it entirely out of necessity. Distinctions in...
June 27, 2024
A new report says teens in more prosperous countries are lacking in financial literacy. While more than two-thirds of students routinely use financial products and services, levels of financial literacy are too low to make sure they can avoid financial risks, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said Thursday (June 27). “These results, […]
May 28, 2024
Consumers are more likely to expect an expansion of public assistance programs than they were a year ago. Among the programs about which they have increased optimism are federal student...
May 28, 2024
Consumer confidence crept up in May, as grocery and job worries continue to weigh on Americans. That’s according to the latest installment of the Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which...
May 17, 2024
Walmart shouldn’t count on keeping the affluent customers it has recently gained, the retailer’s former U.S. CEO Bill Simon said Thursday (May 16). Speaking on CNBC’s Fast Money, Simon said that when the...
