The power to raise prices is slipping from some of the biggest US food and packaged goods groups, threatening their sales growth even as it spells relief for inflation-bruised consumers. Companies that imposed years of relentless price increases are now rolling out more discounts, adding coupons and spending to put their products front and centre in store aisles. Many have warned of a new frugality in households, especially poorer ones. In the US, 28.
“If consumers are starting to feel more stretched and becoming more price conscious, you do have to wonder how that affects consumer stocks specifically, how it affects defensive stocks more broadly and how it affects the economy as a whole,” he said. Consumer thrift has also affected some of the retailers that carry manufacturers’ wares.