Higher energy prices haven't helped either. On Friday, the national average gas price stood at $3.83 per gallon,, slightly off the 2023 high, though still below the recent peak of over $5 per gallon seen in 2022.
And according to Chen, resilient shoppers who are still spending are choosing to purchase travel over goods. For retailers, this has all added up to weaker traffic in September. "What we found is that consumers are really feeling cautious," UBS analyst Jay Sole told Yahoo Finance Live. "They're worried about things like having to repay student loans, and as a result, they're thinking that they're going to pull back on spending on discretionary items like apparel, footwear, and accessories, and we think that's going to be a headwind for stock prices.
In a recent Coresight Research consumer survey, the number of respondents who said they expected their personal financial situation to be better this holiday season compared to last year dropped. In August, the percentage of those who thought their situation would be better dropped to 18.8% from 34.2% in June.
Coresight Research expects growth rates of around 1% to 1.5% in real retail sales and around 3% in nominal retail sales.A shopper passes by a display of Christmas trees in a Costco warehouse as holiday shopping is underway on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, in Sheridan, Colo. Yet, some retailers are going into the holidays with an optimistic tone.
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