{"id":5159,"date":"2026-09-23T10:27:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T10:27:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=5159"},"modified":"2026-09-23T10:27:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T10:27:10","slug":"retail-ceos-see-a-holiday-paradox-shoppers-are-anxious-but-still-willing-to-spend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=5159","title":{"rendered":"Retail CEOs see a holiday paradox: shoppers are anxious but still willing to spend"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Good morning. <\/strong>Phil Wahba writing from New York this morning. As consumer and retail CEOs see the holiday season inching closer, they\u2019re trying to figure out whether U.S. customers will keep up their healthy pace of shopping\u2014even in the face of all political and economic tumult\u2014or finally pull back. There\u2019s one thing chief executives agree on: the U.S. consumer is anxious and their spending can\u2019t be taken for granted.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019ve seen in this economy is a customer across all cohorts of income levels being somewhat distressed, especially in sustained inflation,\u201d Dollar General CEO Todd Vasos told a Goldman Sachs retail conference last week.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And yet the U.S. consumer continues to spend\u2014for now, and likely through the end of the year. Consulting firm AlixPartners\u2019 2026 holiday forecast predicts holiday season sales will rise 4% to 7% even as 57% of Americans say they are worse off than a year ago, and many say they should<\/em> spend less this year. That contradiction comes down to a combination of relatively low unemployment, negative headlines, and retailers doling out deals: shoppers know they should tighten their budgets given current events, but they still have money to spend and are instead focusing on squeezing more out of each dollar.<\/p>\n

Vasos sees that trend in the habits of Dollar General shoppers. He says households making $100,000 or more are trading down to Dollar General from <\/strong>competitors like Walmart. Meanwhile, customers making $45,000 a year or less\u2014those particularly exposed to high gas prices\u2014are making more store visits but buying less on each one, stocking up on what they need when they have the cash for it.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Macy\u2019s CEO Tony Spring said he\u2019s contending with wary consumers by moving forward with the department store\u2019s plan to invest more in stores, place more employees on the floor, fine-tune its merchandise assortment, and improve its supply chain. Those upgrades have increased Macy\u2019s operational flexibility; its nimbler supply chain, for instance, makes it easier to cycle out items that aren\u2019t selling. Dollar General has responded to the uptick in bargain hunters <\/strong>by ramping up its selection of $1 items.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no straight line unless you can tell me there won\u2019t be an inflation increase,\u201d said Spring. \u201cThere\u2019s way too much uncertainty, so we are focused on serving the customers.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Indeed, the CEOs at the Goldman conference seemed resigned to operating in an environment where agility is required, but that doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019re not yearning for some stability.<\/p>\n

The biggest question weighing on CEOs\u2019 minds is how to manage \u201ceverything going on, with diesel prices, oil, a war, interest rates, the Fed,\u201d said Boot Barn CEO John Hazen. \u201cPick your topic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Contact CEO Daily via Diane Brady at diane.brady@fortune.com<\/em><\/p>\n

Top leadership news<\/h3>\n

Meta\u2019s Muse AI takes off\u2014and draws backlash<\/b><\/p>\n

Meta\u2019s Muse app <\/span>became<\/span> the top free app in Apple\u2019s App Store with strong early consumer interest in the assistant that can complete tasks across connected accounts. But Amazon has blocked the AI agent from accessing its site, an early sign of the barriers autonomous agents may face as they act on users\u2019 behalf.<\/span><\/p>\n

A16z backs a high-priced college alternative<\/b><\/p>\n

Andreessen Horowitz is <\/span>backing<\/span> a new unaccredited academy for students wanting a more direct path into technology than a traditional four-year college degree. Its first cohort at the <\/span>Horowitz Andreessen Academy<\/span> will attend for free, but the program ultimately plans to charge Harvard-level tuition without offering degrees or access to federal student aid.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fortune Change the World 2026<\/b><\/p>\n

Fortune<\/span><\/i>\u2019s <\/span>latest Change the World list<\/span> spotlights 50 companies that are making social or environmental impact part of their core business strategy. One honoree, Fortescue, is <\/span>investing<\/span> $6.2 billion to rid fossil fuels of its Australian iron ore operations by 2030, including through battery-powered trucks and new solar, wind, and battery capacity.<\/span><\/p>\n

The markets<\/h3>\n

S&P 500<\/b> futures are up 0.04% this morning. The last session closed flat. <\/span>The<\/b> STOXX Europe 600<\/b> was down 0.03% in early trading. <\/span>The U.K.\u2019s FTSE 100<\/b> was up 0.19% in early trading.<\/span> Japan\u2019s markets<\/b> are closed today. <\/span>South Korea\u2019s KOSPI <\/b>was up 0.90%. <\/span>China\u2019s CSI 300 <\/b>was down 0.60%.<\/span> Hong Kong\u2019s Hang Seng<\/b> was down 1.01%.<\/span> India\u2019s NIFTY 50 <\/b>was up 0.55%. <\/span>Bitcoin<\/b> is at $86k.<\/span><\/p>\n

Around the watercooler<\/h3>\n

Mortgage rates are nearing 7%, delivering another blow to a housing market already losing buyers and facing stalled sales<\/span> by Mia Osmonbekov<\/span><\/p>\n

After 40 investors rejected Jeff Bezos\u2019 Amazon pitch, his parents offered $245,573 of their retirement savings<\/span> by Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez<\/span><\/p>\n

Commentary: The backwards AI pacing debate and how far business is from the frontier<\/span> by Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, David Siegel, and Stephen Henriques<\/span><\/p>\n

If AI is going to destroy humanity, Scott Bessent says hyperscalers, not government, must take the fall: \u2018We cannot absolve you of responsibility\u2019<\/span> by Eleanor Pringle<\/span><\/p>\n

Walmart\u2019s new pricing patents spark fears of surveillance: \u2018Are they going to charge you a different price if they know who you are?\u2019<\/span> by Tatiana Sataua<\/span><\/p>\n

CEO Daily is curated and edited by Joseph Abrams, Jason Ma, Claire Zillman, and Lee Clifford.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

#Retail #CEOs #holiday #paradox #shoppers #anxious #spend<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Good morning. 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