Target CEO Brian Cornell says shoppers are pulling back, even on groceries, as they feel stressed about their budgets.
In an interview with CNBC’s Becky Quick that aired Thursday morning, he emphasized that the retailer has posted seven consecutive quarters of declining sales of discretionary items, such as apparel and toys, in terms of both dollars and units.
“But even in food and beverage categories, over the last few quarters, the units, the number of items they’re buying, has been declining,” he said in the interview.
From the article:
“Pay is beginning to catch up in the race, and since May, has been rising faster than inflation after losing ground for more than two years.”
Basically what they are saying is that it’s behind overall, because it lagged so much due to COVID, but that salary growth is actually faster than inflation right now.