Nearly all retailers and merchants had a difficult quarter, but especially those whose primary sales are non-essential goods like apparel and beauty products. Target’s eagerly awaited quarterly earnings confirmed many of the concerns of investors, with a 3.4 per cent decline in comparable digital sales attributable to a consumer slowdown in discretionary purchases. The venerable retailer Macy’s has also had revenue issues for the first quarter of 2023. Digital sales fell 8 per cent over the same time, while brick-and-mortar sales at the company fell 6 per cent. In May, the buy-now, pay-later company Affirm reported its most recent quarterly results, reporting an 8 per cent year-over-year fall in consumer electronic purchases.

Source: Economic Times June 14, 2023 06:40 UTC