Due to inflation, several retailers are already dealing with higher cost of goods and services (COGS) – and dealing with the supply chain crisis. They just finished reporting Q3 earnings; 141 retailers have already discussed inflation worries, and 192 have mentioned the supply issues during their earnings calls. Consumers’ short-term inflation expectations rose again, with the median cost of living increase for next year pushing up from 5.7% to 6.0%. This increase is twice the pace of expectations for income growth, which slid to 2.8% from 3.0%, according to the New York Federal Reserve. As a result, the latest Ipsos

The U.S. Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, Nov. 22 kicks off the retail Christmas holiday season. We look at some trends shaping up for the retail year’s make-or-break fourth quarter. The Refinitiv Same Store Sales Index posted an impressive 3.9% average for the first half of 2018. However, it looks like consumer spending might slow down from the previous two quarters (Q3 and Q2) into Q4. For Q4 2018, the Refinitiv Same Store Sales Index is looking for a 3.0% growth, slightly below the 3.1% SSS Q4 2017 result. Despite a slight slowdown, a 3.0% SSS still reflects healthy U.S. consumer

Black Friday – the day after the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday — is one of the most critical retail sales days during the holiday season, and for some it can make or break their fourth quarter profits. Supposedly, it turns red ink into black on the ledgers, thus the name. Here are some highlights as we head into this year’s Black Friday season: Of all retailers, department stores might be relying the most on having a great Black Friday to match and or exceed their quarterly estimates. The current average merchandise discount is 37.3% and it’s been at this level for

December retail sales are expected to post an improvement, compared with 2015.

‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house Investors awaited the pre-Christmas bounce. Theory aside, the literature was clear, For those with investments ’tis the ‘most wonderful time of the year’. Refresh the chart in your browser | Edit chart in Datastream Investors are well aware that much money can be made on stock markets in the pre-Christmas bounce. Indeed, there is now a wealth of academic research on the matter, which offers a conclusion about as close to unanimous as economists are ever likely to reach: “Equity markets do better in the week before Christmas than in

U.S. retailers are hoping for healthy Black Friday sales.