Americans are reportedly buying groceries at Walmart and opting out of nonessentials at other stores as inflation troubles President Joe Biden’s (D) economy.
Walmart experienced strong sales last quarter, according to a recent CNN Business report:
The company said Thursday that sales at stores open for at least one year increased 7.4% during its latest quarter compared with the same stretch last year. Its operating income increased 17.3% last quarter.
Walmart (WMT) raised its sales forecast for its next quarter and the full-year, sending its stock up 1.5% during pre-market trading.
During a recent conference call, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon expressed an optimistic outlook on the situation.
“It’s a great time to be a merchant. We continue to gain market share in the grocery category, including with higher income and younger shoppers, and we saw good growth in membership income in both businesses,” he stated, per Yahoo! Finance.
Nearly half of Walmart’s sales come from its groceries and non-discretionary items. In the last quarter, grocery sales grew by low double digits, the CNN report said.
Now, wealthier families are reportedly shopping there on a more regular basis. The outlet also said other consumers are “trading down into Walmart’s cheaper private-label food brands to save money.”
Although some on Wall Street think the country has moved past inflation, more Americans say it is still hurting their finances, according to Breitbart News.
“Sixty-one percent of Americans say recent price hikes have caused financial hardship for their household, up six points from the last reading in November, Gallup said Thursday. This is the highest since Gallup began tracking this question in 2021,” Breitbart reported.
A father, worried about finances, works on paying bills with his little daughter in his lap. (Getty)
Walmart CFO John David Rainey said recently that consumers have been experiencing a strain, but the “resilience has surprised us,” per CNBC:
He added that “Consumers are trading down to smaller pack sizes. We continue to see the discretionary items like electronics, TVs, home, apparel, are becoming items that people are more selective about. They’re waiting until items go on sale simply because much of their discretionary income is being devoted to grocery.”
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