Richard Hastings Spending Quotations

One area of trouble in consumer spending is households and individuals with weakening credit profiles. So far it's not yet a majority of households but the number of consumers in credit distress is on the increase. That's something to keep an eye on,

I expect this number to rise toward the end of the year. At the same time jobs and wages won't rise fast enough to offer relief to already overstretched consumers. This could hurt retail spending in the second-half.

If spending on durable goods slows down, it could also weaken sales of consumer electronics, especially on big ticket items that have a higher profit margin but are interest rate sensitive.

July sales were weaker than expected. Summer can be a volatile season for retailers but I am a little surprised by the weakness in apparel. I'll be keeping an eye on discretionary spending going forward.

Will the anticipation of more expensive bills hurt holiday sales? I don't think so. I think consumer spending will see more of a marginal change rather than a substantial change, primarily at the lower-income level.

Weaker spending on seasonal goods has been building up for four months now. The two factors hurting consumers particularly at the low- and middle-income levels are that wages have not grown and gasoline prices could go even higher.

To be concerned about the strength of consumer spending is wise. Wal-Mart as a barometer of consumer spending is significant. Consumer spending will start to moderate off of its hot pace in the second-half of the year.

It's great if you attract lower income shoppers looking for low prices, but what if those shoppers who were really struggling between 2000 and 2003 now have jobs? They might be spending more and looking for different merchandise...maybe something Wal-Mart doesn't have,

I continue to believe that the effects of higher gas prices on the consumer are overestimated. Most of the important measures of discretionary spending such as furniture, lawn and garden and food sales held up nicely.

Halloween will be a slam-dunk for merchants despite the weakening consumer spending trends.