Americans Spent Money Like Drunken Sailors, But Did They Outspend the Raging Inflation in Durable & Nondurable Goods? Um, No by Wolf Richter • Feb 16, 2022 • 165 Comments Two elephants in retail: A historic spike in prices of goods and seasonal adjustments as the Pandemic upended seasonality.
Empty Shelf at a Grocery Store Near You? Tight Inventories, Labor Shortages, Supply Chain Snags, Strong Sales, Soaring Costs by Wolf Richter • Jan 17, 2022 • 258 Comments It shows how brittle the system has become in face of every new challenge.
Oh My, the American Consumer amid the Distortions and Price Spikes of Our Time by Wolf Richter • Jan 14, 2022 • 131 Comments “Not seasonally adjusted” retail sales spiked to a record. “Seasonally adjusted” retail sales fell. Both: +16.9% from year ago. What the heck is going on?
Brick-and-Mortar Meltdown Manhattan Style, Year 6: Have Retail-Shop Rents Collapsed Enough Yet? by Wolf Richter • Dec 21, 2021 • 105 Comments In a number of shopping corridors, asking rents collapsed by 50% to 73%, amid a slew of vacant stores. But in one corridor, rents jumped.
Inflation Magic: Retail Sales +19.5% Year-over-Year, But Flat with Blowout Oct, as Department Stores Sagged, Auto Dealers Had No Inventory, and Cannabis Stores? by Wolf Richter • Dec 15, 2021 • 105 Comments Spiking prices inflate retail sales across the board, but particularly at auto dealers and gas stations.
Best Buy Shares Plunge on Margin Pressures, “Organized Retail Crime”: A Look at Organized Retail Crime in the US and How Ecommerce Turned it into a Big Business by Wolf Richter • Nov 23, 2021 • 209 Comments Stolen goods get sold to law-abiding Americans by third-party vendors on big ecommerce sites that profit from it. Legislation to control it struggles.
CVS to Close 900 Stores, Convert Others from Retail to Services, as Ecommerce Competitors Gobble up Pharmacy Revenues by Wolf Richter • Nov 19, 2021 • 103 Comments Brick & Mortar Meltdown Continues.
Massive Price Increases & Overstimulated Demand Fuel Historic Surge in Retail Sales by Wolf Richter • Nov 16, 2021 • 154 Comments Money-printing hits home. Charts by retailer category.
Why Walgreens is in Trouble in San Francisco and is Closing Some Stores: It’s Not Shoplifting, that’s an Artful Distraction from the Real Reasons by Wolf Richter • Oct 23, 2021 • 234 Comments Caught up in the brick-and-mortar meltdown, it faces its own botched decisions and a market that has horribly turned against its pharmacies.
Not Getting Better: Relentless Retail Inventory Squeeze amid Shortages & Supply Chain Chaos by Wolf Richter • Oct 16, 2021 • 167 Comments Holiday selling season is going to be a mess: Look not for what you want but for what the store has.
