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High-End Retailers Face Downturn As Wealthy Americans Cut Back On Spending

As Black Friday looms, a concerning trend has emerged: Affluent Americans are cutting back on spending - a shift which signals potential trouble for an economy reliant on robust consumer expenditure to ward off recession.

According to Bloomberg Second Measure Data of debit/credit card transactions by US consumers, in the three months leading to the holiday season, a collection of retailers serving the upper middle class, such as Apple, Coach, and Nordstrom, experienced their steepest sales decline in two years. This data, derived from Bloomberg Second Measure, also reflects a downturn in affluent mall traffic, contradicting the general uptick in retail sales figures.

On Tuesday, Best Buy Co. and Lowe’s Cos. cut their forecasts and warned that shoppers were pulling back on big-ticket items like appliances ahead of the holiday season. Kohl’s Corp. reported its seventh-straight drop in comparable sales, as a partnership with Sephora drew in customers but didn’t spur them to spend more money on other items at the department stores. Even positive results at some retailers left investors wanting more as shares slumped at Abercrombie & Fitch Co. and American Eagle Outfitters Inc. -Bloomberg

Kayla Bruun, a senior economist at Morning Consult, notesthat the upper middle class "had been driving a lot of the stronger-than-expected spending." However, households with incomes over $100,000 are becoming more frugal.

Read the following article: https://www.zerohedge.com/political/high-end-retailers-face-downturn-wealthier-americans-cut-back-spending