Brand News
07 November 2022
The Week Ahead: DTC earnings, Inflation update, Election Day
Check out what's happening in ecommerce from Nov. 7-11, 2022.
×
The Current, delivered daily.
Ecommerce news, right to your inbox.
Sign up for our email newsletter.
Subscribe.sticky-cta-wrapper {
width: 100%;
position: fixed;
bottom: 0;
left: 0;
background-color: var(--black);
}
Subscribe to The Current newsletter
Welcome to a new week. The coming days will mark the culmination of a monthslong effort by focused teams to carefully study prevailing sentiment across the country, and bring forward a campaign that reaches people with the right message across platforms to inspire them to take action. For these upstart operations, the outcome will be make or break the ability to accomplish all that they want in 2023.
We’re not talking about Black Friday, yet. Tuesday is Election Day in the United States. providing voters with the opportunity to weigh in on key races for Congress, governor and ballot questions.
While the goals of political campaigns are oriented toward voting and legislating rather than selling goods, they employ many of the same tools as consumer brands, from data to personalization to the latest digital marketing techniques.
They even rely on some of the same indicators, like consumer sentiment. In the weeks leading up to the election, consumer confidence was running at its lowest levels since the beginning of the pandemic at a time when inflation continues to run at 40-year highs, according to Morning Consult. This is shaping how voters view the race, just as it makes a difference to their willingness to click "Buy."
We’ll find out which party put tactics and message together to convince more voters to click their button in the voting booth. Unfortunately, in this case there are no returns.
Here’s a look at the rest of this week’s happenings that are shaping the consumer economy:
Economic indicators
Consumer Credit: Last week, the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates, which will effectively make borrowing more expensive as these actions filter through the economy. This week, the Fed issues data on how much Americans have accumulated in loans, credit cards and other vehicles with its monthly report on consumer credit. (Nov. 8)
Consumer Price Index: The US Commerce Department issues its report showing the inflation rate for October. Bank of America economists expect an inflation rate of 7.8% year-over-year, which would be a slowing of price growth from September’s level of 8.2%. Timed with this print, Adobe also typically releases its monthly digital price index, showing the ecommerce inflation rate. (Nov. 10)
University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment: The initial reading from the University of Michigan Survey of Consumers provides a snapshot of consumer buying conditions and outlook. This measure has remained near all-time lows amid this year’s bout with inflation. (Nov. 11).
Earnings
Many of the most prominent publicly traded direct-to-consumer brands will report quarterly earnings this week, providing insights on consumer patterns and how brands are navigating a tough retail environment.
Monday, Nov. 7: Blue Apron, Hims & Hers, SmileDirectClub.
Tuesday, Nov. 8: Allbirds, Affirm, Coty, SquareSpace, The RealReal.
Wed., Nov. 9: Boxed, Bark, Canoo, Olaplex, HanesBrands, Purple.
Thursday, Nov. 10: Warby Parker, Solo Brands, Yeti, Figs, Grove Collaborative, AKA Brands, Brilliant Earth, Poshmark, Tapestry Inc., Ralph Lauren, Utz Brands, WeCommerce, Wix.
Subscribe to The Current Newsletter
SubscribeTrending in Brand News
Economy
30 May
Consumer confidence falls to 6-month low in May
Still, plans to buy big-ticket items ticked up.
“Deterioration.” “Gloomy.”
Those were a couple of the words used to describe consumer confidence in May. The Conference Board reported that the index fell to a six-month low amid debt ceiling anxiety and increasing concerns about employment.
“Consumer confidence declined in May as consumers’ view of current conditions became somewhat less upbeat while their expectations remained gloomy,” said Ataman Ozyildirim, senior director of economics at the Conference Board, in a statement. “...While consumer confidence has fallen across all age and income categories over the past three months, May’s decline reflects a particularly notable worsening in the outlook among consumers over 55 years of age.”
The dip among those over 55 came as Congress negotiated a deal over increasing the debt ceiling that included talk of cuts to programs such as social security and Medicare. While officials reached an agreement over Memorial Day weekend, the Conference Board’s survey was fielded prior to that date.
The job picture appears to be more anecdotally cloudy, as the number of consumers reporting jobs as “plentiful” fell to four percentage points to 43.5%. The job market has been consistently robust for nearly three years, as unemployment remains near historic lows. In April, the economy added 253,000 jobs, which remained a positive sign despite being below the gains of prior months. The confidence reading comes ahead of fresh data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday.
Despite the declines, there were signs that consumers are not completely pulling back on big-ticket items. Plans to buy big-ticket items such as cars and appliances ticked up on a monthly basis. It’s worth watching whether this extends to providing resilience in other discretionary categories, which have seen a pullback in early 2023.
Nevertheless, the index offered another sign that the consumer mood is getting more pessimistic. It was the fourth time in five months that confidence fell. On Friday, the University of Michigan offered another with a consumer sentiment report that showed a 7% dip.
Brands and retailers must work to reach consumers that are increasingly in less of a buying mood than the month before.
Keep reading...Show less
Loading...
Subscribe to The Current Newsletter
SubscribeLatest from Brand News
.sticky-cta-wrapper {
width: 100%;
position: fixed;
bottom: 0;
left: 0;
background-color: var(--black);
}
Subscribe to The Current newsletter