WARC (August 1)
“Whether it’s $18 for a two-ounce ginseng drink or $75,000 for a luxury mattress, the story is the same: Chinese consumers are becoming more frugal and the days of carefree spending have gone.” For over a decade, upmarket western brands have relied on China’s “expanding middle class” to drive growth, “but now, with a slowing economy, growing unemployment and a disruptive zero-COVID policy, those same middle classes are as likely to be saving as spending.”
Tags: Carefree, China, Consumers, Frugal, Growth, Luxury, Middle class, Saving, Slowing Economy, Spending, Unemployment, Upmarket, Western brands, Zero COVID
Washington Post (July 26)
“The U.S. economy is caught in an awkward, painful place. A confusing one, too. Growth appears to be sputtering, home sales are tumbling and economists warn of a potential recession ahead. But consumers keep spending, businesses keep posting profits and the economy keeps adding hundreds of thousands of jobs a month.”
Tags: Awkward, Businesses, Caught, Confusing, Consumers, Economists, Economy, Growth, Home sales, Painful, Profits, Recession, Spending, Sputtering, U.S.
Reuters (May 27)
Covid-related restrictions “have battered the world’s second-biggest economy even as most countries have been seeking to return to something like normal.” Although “China’s economy is now staggering back to its feet,” the recovery remains “grinding and partial… with businesses from retailers to chipmakers warning of slow sales as consumers in the country slam the brakes on spending.”
Tags: Battered, Businesses, China, Chipmakers, Consumers, Covid, Economy, Grinding, Normal, Partial, Recovery, Restrictions, Retailers, Sales, Staggering, Warning
New York Times (May 11)
The weak yen, coupled with soaring food and energy costs, “are posing yet another challenge for the world’s third-largest economy as Japan trails other major nations in emerging from the economic blow of the pandemic. The rise in prices has spooked Japanese consumers used to decades of stability, and the weak yen is starting to look as if it will depress demand at home more than stimulate it abroad.”
Tags: Challenge, Consumers, Costs, Economy, Energy, Food, Japan, Pandemic, Prices, Soaring, Spooked, Stability, Weak yen
CNN (April 25)
“Oil prices fell sharply Monday as lockdowns in China stoked concerns that the country’s zero-Covid strategy will sap energy demand in the world’s second-largest economy.” The concerns over China “could create one positive for consumers: They may ease pressure on prices at the pump.” On Monday, “US oil dropped as much as 6.7% to a two-week low of $95.28 a barrel.”
Tags: China, Concerns, Consumers, Demand, Ease, Energy, Lockdowns, Oil prices, Positive, Prices, Pump, Zero COVID
Bloomberg (March 27)
“Prices for some of the world’s most pivotal products – foods, fuels, plastics, metals – are spiking beyond what many buyers can afford. That’s forcing consumers to cut back and, if the trend grows, may tip economies already buffeted by pandemic and war back into recession.”
Tags: Buffeted, Buyers, Consumers, Economies, Foods, Fuels, Metals, Pandemic, Plastics, Prices, Products, Spiking, Trend, War
Star Tribune (February 21)
Hit by higher costs for barley, a can shortage and soaring shipping costs, “even the world’s largest beer manufacturers are passing on their higher costs to consumers.” Up to now, “consumers have taken it in stride. Just as higher grocery bills are offset by dining out less, a bigger tab at liquor stores is being absorbed by a lack of travel and entertainment expenses.” Even so, there are worries we may be reaching a turning point where consumption will fall.
Tags: Barley, Beer, Can, Consumers, Dining out, Entertainment, Groceries, Higher costs, Manufacturers, Shipping, Shortage, Soaring, Travel, Turning-point
Reuters (December 13)
Apple “rose about 11% last week, extending its more than 30% gain for the year as investors remain confident that flush consumers will continue to pay top dollar” for its products.” The company’s “market value hovered just shy of the $3 trillion mark on Monday, following a stunning run over the past decade that has turned it into the world’s most valuable company.”
Tags: $3 trillion, Apple, Confident, Consumers, Extending, Gain, Investors, Market value, Stunning
The Economist (October 9)
“Spending has come roaring back, as governments have stimulated the economy and consumers let rip. The surge in demand is so powerful that supply is struggling to keep up. Lorry drivers are getting signing bonuses, an armada of container ships is anchored off California waiting for ports to clear and energy prices are spiralling upwards. As rising inflation spooks investors, the gluts of the 2010s have given way to a shortage economy.”
Tags: Consumers, Container ships, Demand, Economy, Energy, Gluts, Governments, Inflation, Investors, Ports, Powerful, Roaring, Signing bonuses, Spending, Supply, Surge
Philadelphia Inquirer (June 1)
“After a year stuck at home, consumers who can afford it are ‘revenge spending’ – splurging on items and experiences they were deprived of during the pandemic…. More than half of U.S. consumers expect to spend extra by treating themselves, with higher-income millennials intending to spend the most.” It already shows. “Consumer spending is above pre-pandemic levels across the Philadelphia region and nation.”
Tags: Afford, Consumers, Deprived, Experiences, Home, Income, Millennials, Pandemic, Revenge spending, Splurging, U.S.
