Monthly visits to beauty stores are up in every month of 2022 as consumers continue to spend … [+]
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The US Census Bureau released July retail sales, which were flat compared to June (seasonally adjusted). Sales outside of stores, including online, increased 2.7% from the previous month. Jonathan Silver, Founder and CEO of Affinity Solutions, said: “With retail sales flat or up slightly if gasoline and car purchases are excluded, we still see consumer appetite to spend despite economic headwinds. , such as bottlenecked supply chains and higher than normal inflation.” While retail sales were flat compared to June, store visits were up, showing that shoppers are making more trips to physical stores.
Beauty and wellness are still going strong
Monthly visits to beauty shops and spas have increased each month in 2022 compared to last year. In July, visits were up 4.5% compared to 2021 and 27% higher than pre-pandemic levels. Shira Petrack, Marketing Content Manager at Placer.ai, said: “While part of the growth in visits is due to physical expansions, the increase in foot traffic also reflects a strong demand for beauty products that has remained stable. relatively unaffected by the broader drop in consumer spending.”
Monthly visits to beauty stores and spas were strong, up 27% compared to pre-pandemic levels.
Courtesy of Placer.ai
Foot traffic to movie theaters increased in July 2022, with a 72% increase in visits compared to the March 2022 baseline. Petrack stated, “The success of movie theaters and the beauty and beauty category spa indicates that despite the challenges, consumers are still willing to spend money on non-essential goods and services.”
Discount and dollar stores show increased store visits
According to Placer.ai’s quarterly store visit index, visits to discount and dollar stores have increased weekly since April. As consumers continue to feel the pressure of inflation, price-conscious shoppers are looking to the discount segment to offset higher prices. The consumer price index, although flat in July compared to the previous month, showed an increase of 8.5% (average of all items) for the 12-month measure, year over year. Silver said: “This back-to-school shopping season, parents, particularly in the low-to-middle income bracket, are focusing on the basics while also shopping for cheaper stores amid rising inflation.”
Ethan Chernofsky, vice president of marketing for Placer.ai, discussed how dollar and discount stores typically experience the most significant increase in visits around December, as shoppers visit the sector for holiday gifts and party supplies at good price. The change in visits explains a drop between the first quarter of 2022 and the fourth quarter of 2021. Visits to discount sector stores are expected to increase during the holiday season.
Dollar and discount stores experienced significant growth in the past three years with the second … [+]
Courtesy of Placer.ai
Chernofsky stated, “As consumers look to stretch their budgets, dollar and discount stores are likely to continue to see elevated traffic numbers in the second half of 2022.”
Major dollar stores, including Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, and Five Below, … [+]
Courtesy of Placer.ai
Customers continue to spend online
Out-of-store sales (not seasonally adjusted) for the year increased 16.5% compared to 2021, with an increase of 29.6% in July. Compared to pre-pandemic levels (2019), out-of-store sales are up nearly 60%. Consumers are shopping online and taking advantage of the buy online, pick up in store features of many retailers. Click-and-collect sales are forecast to reach $96 billion in 2022, up 19.4% from last year.
Lower gas prices will boost back-to-school (BTS) sales, including online. Cotton Incorporated’s BTS report revealed that 38% of surveyed parents plan to purchase their BTS items online. The report stated that the current economic situation and inflation affect 85% of respondents’ BTS purchases. While prices across all categories have been flat through June, online prices have declined for the first time this year.
The Adobe Digital Price Index (DPI) showed July as the first month e-commerce to go into deflation after 25 straight months of persistent online inflation. According to the report, the majority of categories tracked by the DPI (14 of 18) experienced month-over-month (MoM) price declines in July, and there was an overall online price decline of 1%. year over year (YoY).
Most retail segments remain strong
Year-to-date (YTD) retail sales for February through July (not seasonally adjusted) increased 9.9% compared to the prior year, with major gasoline categories up 40.8%, outside the store, including online, up 16.5%, and groceries up 7.4%. Department stores lagged behind, with sales falling 0.5%. In July, department stores took a hit with sales down nearly 9%.
Year-to-date, retail sales for February through July are up 9.9% compared to the prior period. … [+]
Inflationary pressures remain stable
The second half of 2022, which begins in August for most retailers, will continue to bring significant uncertainty to consumer spending. BTS sales may increase based on many students returning to full-time in-person (rather than distance) study, and prices may continue to drop based on overstock. Inventory levels across all categories were up 15% in May compared to a year ago, with discount stores up 30% and department stores up 17%, prompting many retailers to cut prices to move inventory.
Silver stated: “The year-over-year increase tells us that the economy is recovering, although it is difficult to determine which areas are actually recovering faster than others, as there has never been a more fragmented consumer landscape, and economic indicators General guidelines are often no longer sufficient to truly understand changing consumer behaviors across all segments.”
Source: www.forbes.com