The former vice chairman of Target has issued a dire warning to American consumers ahead of the holiday shopping period.
Gerald Storch predicted that the seasonal shopping season between Thanksgiving and Christmas would be weighed down by economic and political uncertainties this year.
‘It’s very clear that consumers are running out of money,’ he told Fox Business.
‘They’re increasingly stressed by inflation and the exhaustion of their pandemic-era savings… they’re spending less than the growth of inflation,’ he told the program on Thursday.
The former Target exec pointed out that a quirk in the calendar means Thanksgiving falls later than usual this year, meaning the shopping period will be shorter too.
The seasonal shopping season between Thanksgiving and Christmas will be shorter this year
Former Target executive Gerald Storch has issued a dire warning about the shopping season
‘You have, by the way, the shortest holiday season you can even imagine, so that’s against retailers,’ he said.
‘Now and the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is very, very short, so that’s going to be bad.’
The knife-edge presidential election on the 5th November will also affect consumer sentiment in the run up to Christmas Storch argued.
‘The election’s going to weigh on things and the geopolitical situation as well, so I think it’s going to be a pretty weak Christmas,’ he said.
Concerns about the wider consumer landscape have been exasperated by mass store closures throughout the year.
Earlier this week pharmacy giant Walgreens closed 1,200 locations across the country.
Around 500 of the stores scheduled for the chop will shutter over the next year, although their locations have not yet been revealed.
Pharmacy chains are facing their most turbulent time in recent history as consumers avoid high-priced grocery items and pressures mount on payments they receive from drug middlemen for filling prescriptions.
America’s retail sector is facing what has been dubbed a ‘retail apocalypse’ driven by high inflation leading to store closures and bankruptcies. Consumers are also increasingly choosing to shop online rather than in bricks and mortar stores.
Earlier this week Big Lots announced details of another 208 stores it plans to shut as it battles bankruptcy.
There were almost 2,600 store closures in the first four months of 2024. If that trend continues, almost 8,000 will have been lost by the end of the year.
Big Lots store in Dennis Port, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod, is shutting soon, and has up to 50 percent off in its clearance sale
Bargain stores like Big Lots as well as dollar stores have been hit particularly hard.
For example, 99 Cents Only announced in April it would shutter all 371 of its locations across California, Texas, Arizona and Nevada.
In addition, Macy’s is closing 150 shops over the next three years – including the shuttering of 55 this year.