Sales 

Retail sales in May expected to rebound amid COVID-19 pandemic

By Tommy Flemm 1 year ago

The May retail sales report will peel back the curtain on the health of the U.S. consumer amid one of the worst global pandemics in modern history. The consumer is expected to have rebounded following April’s record plunge in retail sales. While COVID-19 likely put some pressure on consumer spending during May, economists predict online sales maintained their strength. Even spending in the beaten down core components are expected to have rebounded in May.

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect headline retail sales rose 8%, up from a 16.4% decline in April. Meanwhile, retail sales excluding the volatile auto and gas components likely jumped 5% in May, up from a 16.2% plunge in April.

“As many states continued to ease restrictions on resident mobility and nonessential business activity, various high-frequency estimates of consumer spending data indicated solid increases in major discretionary categories in May following historical declines in April,” Nomura economist

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Camping reservations and RV sales surge as coronavirus lockdowns lifts

By Tommy Flemm 1 year ago

After months in lockdown, Americans are ready to leave their homes — and sleep under the stars.

There has been a surge of new reservations at camp grounds around the U.S. The allure of solidarity and outdoor access has prompted a third of people in the U.S. who have never camped before to now consider camping, according to Kampgrounds of Americas, a Montana-based camping company with over 500 franchised campgrounds in North America.

“We know people are concerned about social distancing, and the outdoors provides a great way to do that. Which is why we think there’s a lot of interest in camping right now,” Toby O’Rourke, CEO of Kampgrounds of Americas, told Yahoo Finance.

To reduce the chance of coronavirus infection for campers this summer, Kampgrounds will offer contactless check-in, while keeping shared areas closed — including bathrooms, in certain states, which means campers in tents may need to

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Lamborghini sales stay hot with stock market soaring: CEO

By Tommy Flemm 1 year ago

Lamborghini appears to be firing on close to all 12 cylinders despite the global economic downturn.

With the stock market soaring again and an extremely loyal affluent customer base, perhaps that’s unsurprising.

“I think what we can say today is that the first signal that we have received from our customers in our market is that no orders have been canceled. So I think that’s an incredible sign in this moment where we’re living in a unique and unreal situation. Our customers are very loyal to the brand,” said Lamborghini’s Chairman and CEO Stefano Domenicali on Yahoo Finance’s The First Trade.

Lamborghini, which is headquartered in Northern Italy, restarted auto manufacturing on May 4 after being shutdown due to COVID-19.. Domenicali tells Yahoo Finance the company will be back to full manufacturing capacity next week.

While he expects new orders to build slowly given the still challenging conditions globally stemming

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Here’s why Williams-Sonoma’s 2.6% same store sales growth is particularly extraordinary

By Tommy Flemm 1 year ago

Home interior and furnishing retailer Williams-Sonoma (WSM) is gaining market share as people shop online to spruce up their homes during the pandemic.

“This allowed Williams-Sonoma to deliver 2.6% same store sales growth, helped by e-commerce growth that reached more than 30%, leading total sales to decline less than 1% despite dislocation from coronavirus,” wrote Morningstar analyst Jaime K Katz in a note to investors.

The company’s first quarter results ending May 3 stand out given the latest economic data shows retail sales in the U.S. plunged in April as consumers pulled back on spending.

“Moreover, this implies market share gains continue, as the home furniture and furnishings industry averaged a 25% decline (census) over the same period,” wrote Katz.

[To read the full report from Morningstar, sign up for Yahoo Finance Premium. Click here to start your free trial and step up your investing.]

Williams-Sonoma leaned heavily into

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Here’s what booming dollar store sales say about America right now

By Tommy Flemm 1 year ago

The stock market may be back to being on autopilot, but the U.S. consumer is far from being back to full financial health.

Talk about a major disconnection here. While stocks are in rally mode, sales at America’s dollar stores are exploding right now as households endure real financial stress emanating from the COVID-19 pandemic. Dollar General (DG) — which operates 16,500 stores spanning 46 states — said Thursday that first quarter sales exploded 27.6% to $8.4 billion in the first quarter. Same-store sales – a closely watched retail metric that measures sales from stores open longer than a year — boomed 21.7% on the back of strong store traffic and spending on daily essentials.

Same-store sales through May 26 have gained an impressive 22%, despite states across the country opening back up and people returning to work.

These are unprecedented results for a Dollar General, underscoring the current plight

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