|
CNBC'S MOST SHARED
- Unemployed? Bored? Make Money Playing Beer Pong
- The Highest Grossing (Inflation Adjusted) Movies of All Time
- Social Networking's 'Naked' Truth
- Merrill's McCann Seen as UBS Wealth Frontrunner
- Geek Squad V. Gizmodo
- Warren Buffett's Top Three Investment Rules for the Average American
- Why You Should Watch Fund Flows
- Why the Credit Pendulum Is Stuck at 'Stupid'
- Blog You!!!
- Nora Tobin Answers Our Call
- Eric Schmidt on Government Scrutiny and Economic Recovery
- Market 360: The Week's Best & Worst
- Geek Squad V. Gizmodo
- Brandt: Google Chrome OS in the Post-PC Age
- Other People Are Weirder Than We Are
- Bank Failures: Is The Nightmare Over? (Video)
- California Here I Go? No.
- Roginsky: No More Mr. Nice Guy
- Commercial Conundrum
- Cheney Told CIA to Withhold Information: Report
- Why the Credit Pendulum Is Stuck at 'Stupid'
- Stimulus Will Kick in Later this Year: President Obama
- Lender CIT Group Hires Premier Bankruptcy Adviser
- Government Selling Bank Stakes for Too Cheap: Panel
- Buffett's Top 3 Investment Rules for Average Americans
- Market Insider: Earnings Loom in the Week Ahead
- Bulls Get Summertime Blues, But It's Hot Fun for Bears
- As Banks Fail, Strong Institutions Become More Visible
This blog will look at the winners and losers in the retail space. Who has the right strategy to capture consumer dollars? It also will look for trends in consumer spending and how that will impact the economy.
![]() |
But don’t get too excited--it's all relative. The calendar shift and rebate checks are giving April somewhat “inflated” results.
How’s that? Last April was a weak one because it included a slow shopping period post-Easter. This year, Easter fell in March which means that this April we didn’t have to digest that weak shopping period. The bottom line: the year over year comparison is an easy one this time thanks to a calendar shift.
What should be interesting is what retailers say about the rebate check payouts and whether the stimulus package truly is impacting results. While shoppers didn’t receive the checks until the beginning of May (some are in the mail now), consumers may have spent some of that money before receiving the checks.
Consumer psychology is such that the boost of confidence from ‘free money’ may motivate people to spend some if not all of that extra cash. Analyst Chuck Grom of JP Morgan says he thinks that we’re already seeing that sales bump from rebate checks.
Keep these two factors in mind when reading same store sales results tomorrow. According to tracking by Mastercard Spending Pulse expect sales of apparel, footwear, electronics and luxury items to be stronger than last year.
While women are buying less clothing (-.2%), men bought 6.4% more clothing this April than they did last year. Footwear is up a surprising 7%. Maybe that has something to do with the fashion cycle or perhaps women are choosing to use shoes as a refresher to their wardrobe instead of opting for whole new outfits.
The best way to read sales results would be to combine March and April for a more complete understanding of what’s going on with consumers.
One loud voice of caution: Sears’ [SHLD
Loading...
()
] Chairman and ESL Investment head Eddie Lampert. He told Sears shareholders on Monday that he hasn’t seen any improvement so far in the consumer economy and does not forecast a turnaround in the economy during this year.
Questions? Comments?








