Customers are becoming more skeptical about non-essential spending, thus American retailers are depending more on promotions.
According to an article published on Sunday (Aug. 27), Whirlpool, Petco, and Foot Locker are among the companies offering discounts to attract shoppers.
“With sales lower than expected, we are taking more aggressive promotional actions to drive demand and manage our inventory to ensure we are best positioned for the upcoming holiday season,” said Foot Locker Chief Financial Officer Mike Baughn on a recent earnings call.
According to the poll, shops are increasingly offering special deals as consumers look for savings to compensate for their terrible financial situation.
“People have been expecting promotions to be more isolated to the first half of the year and then lower in the back half of the year,” Telsey Advisory Group analyst Cristina Fernández told Bloomberg. “The tone has changed about the back half being a little tougher.”
While these techniques may benefit consumers, investors have a different perspective. According to Bloomberg, Macy’s posted its largest weekly share loss in three years as earnings plummeted owing to inventory markdowns.
