Richard Hastings Consumers Quotations

One area of trouble in consumer spending is households and individuals with weakening credit profiles. So far it's not yet a majority of households but the number of consumers in credit distress is on the increase. That's something to keep an eye on,

Weaker spending on seasonal goods has been building up for four months now. The two factors hurting consumers particularly at the low- and middle-income levels are that wages have not grown and gasoline prices could go even higher.

What's holding up the consumer is habit. Until things change in a very material manner, American consumers won't alter their shopping habits significantly. The jobs market is strong and there's been a little bit of improvement in wage growth. I still don't believe that gas prices are high enough to derail consumers. If there is one thing that could shake consumers it's the housing market and not gas inflation.

The risk for Wal-Mart is that as wages improve, consumers will go to alternative retailers such as Home Depot, Gap, Bed, Bath & Beyond or a Best Buy for better quality and more variety of products,

Consumers have a way of pulling it together for the holidays. We could see weakness in apparel and footwear sales but electronics, entertainment products and gift cards could do very well in the fourth quarter.

Consumers have a way of pulling it together for the holidays.

Consumers are benefiting from a combination of tax stimulus, new products, good apparel fashions and compelling prices.