CONNECT WITH US
eCommerce

eCommerce

Decisive U.S. Election Clears Way for Merry Holiday at Retail

WWD logo

Published on

Add as a preferred source on Google
Decisive U.S. Election Clears Way for Merry Holiday at Retail

The election also carried a lesson for brands on keeping the consumer close.

The big blue wave that swept across America and put Democrats back in charge on Capitol Hill clarified the relatively rosy retail outlook for the holiday season.

And investors were happy to have the election resolved definitively and to feel the ground that much firmer under their feet on Wednesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 3 percent to 53,356.12 as retail stocks rallied. Among the big retail and fashion winners were Reformation Inc., up 9.4 percent to $18.41; American Eagle Outfitters Inc., 9.3 percent to $21.36; Abercrombie & Fitch Co., 8.6 percent to $171.09; Under Armour Inc., 8.6 percent to $5.58; Victoria’s Secret & Co., 8.4 percent to $108.95, and Gap Inc., 8 percent to $23.75.

All year long, consumers have been feeling squeezed by inflation in general and higher gas prices in particular, a product of President Donald Trump’s war with Iran.

But shoppers have held up better than many expected — and soon they might literally have some more fuel in the tank.

Martin Lindstrom, founder and chairman of Lindstrom Co., a global brand and culture transformation group, said consumers are hurting and “very hesitant to believe anything.”

Lindstrom predicted the war with Iran will end “fairly quickly,” loosening up the oil supply.

“I don’t think there’s any political power to continue in that game,” he said. “You’ll first see when the oil price goes down that people will start reconsidering whether they have money or not.


Source link
Related Topics:eCommerce

Disclaimer

We strive to uphold the highest ethical standards in all of our reporting and coverage. We TheMorningPulse.fyi want to be transparent with our readers about any potential conflicts of interest that may arise in our work. It's possible that some of the investors we feature may have connections to other businesses, including competitors or companies we write about. However, we want to assure our readers that this will not have any impact on the integrity or impartiality of our reporting. We are committed to delivering accurate, unbiased news and information to our audience, and we will continue to uphold our ethics and principles in all of our work. Thank you for your trust and support.