www.npr.org Open in urlscan Pro
2a02:26f0:e300::211:93a1  Public Scan

Form analysis
0 forms found in the DOM

Text Content

Accessibility links
 * Skip to main content
 * Keyboard shortcuts for audio player

NPR 24 Hour Program StreamOn Air Now
 * Hourly News
 * Listen Live
 * Playlist

 * Open Navigation Menu
 * 
 * 
 * Newsletters
 * Sign In
 * NPR Shop
 * Donate

Close Navigation Menu
 * Home
 * News Expand/collapse submenu for News
   * National
   * World
   * Politics
   * Business
   * Health
   * Science
   * Climate
   * Race
 * Culture Expand/collapse submenu for Culture
   * Books
   * Movies
   * Television
   * Pop Culture
   * Food
   * Art & Design
   * Performing Arts
   * Life Kit
   * Gaming
 * Music Expand/collapse submenu for Music
   * Tiny Desk
   * Hip-Hop 50
   * All Songs Considered
   * Music Features
   * Live Sessions
 * Podcasts & Shows Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows
   Daily
    * Morning Edition
    * Weekend Edition Saturday
    * Weekend Edition Sunday
    * All Things Considered
    * Fresh Air
    * Up First
   
   Featured
    * The NPR Politics Podcast
    * Throughline
    * Trump's Trials
    * Wild Card with Rachel Martin
   
    * More Podcasts & Shows

 * Search
 * Newsletters
 * Sign In
 * NPR Shop

 * 
 * Tiny Desk
 * Hip-Hop 50
 * All Songs Considered
 * Music Features
 * Live Sessions

 * About NPR
 * Diversity
 * Support
 * Careers
 * Press
 * Ethics

Discounting is back in fashion, as Americans get tired of paying more Consumer
spending rose only slightly in April, as shoppers pushed back against rising
prices.


BUSINESS


DISCOUNTING IS BACK IN FASHION, AS AMERICANS GET TIRED OF PAYING MORE

June 1, 20248:00 AM ET

Scott Horsley

Dollar General is attracting new customers, as inflation-weary shoppers hunt for
bargains. Many of the discount chain's core customers are checking out with
fewer items in their baskets. Scott Olson/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Scott Olson/Getty Images

After two years of paying more for things, Americans are growing more cautious
about how they spend their money and are forcing retailers to offer more
discounts.

Target and Walmart are rolling back prices on grocery items and McDonald’s is
introducing a $5 meal.

And stores like Dollar General, which specialize in discounted items, are
attracting more cost-conscious customers.

“It’s a cautious consumer,” said CEO Todd Vasos, describing Dollar General's
typical shopper. “She is definitely making tradeoffs in the store and at the
shelf."

Dollar General reported better-than-expected profits when it released its most
recent quarterly results on Thursday. The discount chain says it’s attracting
more middle- and upper-income shoppers, looking for bargains. But Dollar
General's lower-income shoppers are often checking out with fewer items in their
baskets.




FINANCIAL STRAIN IS REAL

Broader data are showing that people are feeling the strain. Retailers say
customers are pushing back against additional price increases, according to
the Federal Reserve's latest “Beige Book,” which collects anecdotal information
from businesses around the country.

Walmart said it cut prices on nearly 7,000 items while Target slashed prices on
1,500 items with plans to cut another 3,500 throughout the summer.

That newfound caution among consumers marks a change from last year, when robust
spending kept the economy growing rapidly, even as people told pollsters they
were gloomy about the outlook. Revised figures released this week show the
economy grew at an annual rate of just 1.3% in the first three months of the
year, not 1.6% as originally reported. The downward revision was primarily the
result of lower consumer spending.

The slowdown continued in April, according to a report from the Commerce
Department Friday, which showed consumer spending on goods fell 0.2% during the
month.


SPENDING ON SERVICES INCREASING

People continue to spend more, however, on services – things like haircuts and
tickets to sporting events. Spending on services grew rapidly in the first three
months of the year and continued to expand in April, albeit at a slower pace.

The rising price of services has kept inflation stubbornly high, even as the
price of many goods has begun to fall.



Consumer prices in April were up 2.7% from a year ago, according to the Commerce
Department’s inflation yardstick, which is closely watched by the Federal
Reserve. While that’s down from last year, it remains well above the Fed’s
inflation target, which is 2%.

“As long as demand remains as robust as it is in the service sector, it’s going
to be hard for the Fed to deliver on those expected rate cuts,” said Tim
Quinlan, an economist at Wells Fargo.

The central bank has said it wants to be confident that prices are under control
before it starts cutting interest rates. Rates are expected to remain stable
through the summer, while investors put the odds of a September rate cut at just
over 50%.


INCOME OUTPACING SPENDING

Personal income rose slightly faster than spending in April – a welcome
turnaround after spending outpaced income growth in six of the seven previous
months.

When spending grows faster than income, shoppers are forced to draw down savings
or use their credit cards to make up the difference. Credit card balances grew
to $1.11 trillion in the first quarter of the year, and nearly one out of five
card holders are at or near their credit limit.

“I know it’s sort of the default setting for an economist to cheer it on and
root for strong consumer spending, but I sometimes feel like it might be in
people’s best interest to dial it back a bit,” Quinlan said.

 * inflation
 * consumer spending
 * consumers
 * Federal Reserve
 * Consumer confidence
 * consumer sentiment

 * Facebook
 * Flipboard
 * Email






MORE STORIES FROM NPR

BUSINESS

WITH 'BLEISURE' AND FEWER WORKERS, THE AMERICAN HOTEL IS IN RECOVERY

UAW GOES SOUTH

AUTO WORKERS IN ALABAMA ARE VOTING ON JOINING A UNION. HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO
KNOW

POLITICS

BIDEN WILL KEEP TRUMP'S CHINA TARIFFS, AND ADD NEW ONES ON ELECTRIC VEHICLES

PLANET MONEY

ZOMBIE 2ND MORTGAGES ARE COMING TO LIFE, THREATENING THOUSANDS OF AMERICANS'
HOMES

TELEVISION

CAN NETFLIX BUILD A FACTORY FOR APPOINTMENT TV?

ECONOMY

TAX REVENUE JUMPS 22% IN APRIL, BUT U.S. DEFICIT STILL LOOMS LARGE


POPULAR ON NPR.ORG

SHOTS - HEALTH NEWS

WHY WRITING BY HAND BEATS TYPING FOR THINKING AND LEARNING

SPACE

THERE'S STILL A CHANCE TO SEE THE NORTHERN LIGHTS FROM LOWER LATITUDES

SCIENCE

THE FIRST PERSON TO RECEIVE A GENETICALLY MODIFIED PIG KIDNEY TRANSPLANT HAS
DIED

OBITUARIES

ROGER CORMAN, THE B-MOVIE LEGEND WHO LAUNCHED A-LIST CAREERS, DIES AT 98

SPACE

THE HUGE SOLAR STORM IS KEEPING POWER GRID AND SATELLITE OPERATORS ON EDGE

NATIONAL

CONTROLLED DEMOLITION PLANNED AT BALTIMORE BRIDGE COLLAPSE SITE


NPR EDITORS' PICKS

BUSINESS

WHY INVESTORS ARE DOUBLING DOWN ON TRUTH SOCIAL DESPITE TRUMP'S HISTORIC
CONVICTION

WORLD

WHAT DOES THE DEATH OF A JAILED JESUIT PRIEST SAY ABOUT INDIA'S DEMOCRACY UNDER
MODI?

SHOTS - HEALTH NEWS

AS REPUBLICANS PROBE COVID’S ORIGINS, SOME SEE AN ATTACK ON SCIENCE; OTHERS SAY
IT’S LONG OVERDUE

POLITICS

VINTAGE TRUMP REMARKS AFTER CONVICTIONS RENEW DILEMMA FOR NEWS MEDIA AND VOTERS
ALIKE

HEALTH

7 SURPRISING FACTS ABOUT DREAMS -- WHY WE HAVE THEM AND WHAT THEY MEAN

CULTURE

HOW GRIEF TAUGHT AWARD-WINNING PRODUCER JACK ANTONOFF TO BE LESS CYNICAL



READ & LISTEN

 * Home
 * News
 * Culture
 * Music
 * Podcasts & Shows

CONNECT

 * Newsletters
 * Facebook
 * Instagram
 * Press
 * Public Editor
 * Corrections
 * Contact & Help

ABOUT NPR

 * Overview
 * Diversity
 * NPR Network
 * Accessibility
 * Ethics
 * Finances

GET INVOLVED

 * Support Public Radio
 * Sponsor NPR
 * NPR Careers
 * NPR Shop
 * NPR Events
 * NPR Extra

 * Terms of Use
 * Privacy
 * Your Privacy Choices
 * Text Only
 * © 2024 npr




Sponsor Message

Become an NPR sponsor





COOKIE CONSENT & SPONSORSHIP CHOICES

We and our 175 partners store and/or access information on a device, such as
unique IDs in cookies to process personal data. You may accept or manage your
choices by clicking below, including your right to object where legitimate
interest is used, or at any time in the privacy policy page. These choices will
be signaled to our partners and will not affect browsing data.
By clicking “Accept All,” you agree to the use of cookies, similar tracking and
storage technologies, and information about your device to enhance your viewing,
listening and user experience, personalize content, personalize messages from
NPR’s sponsors, provide social media features, and analyze NPR’s traffic. This
information is shared with social media, sponsorship, analytics, and other
vendors or service providers.


WE AND OUR PARTNERS PROCESS DATA TO PROVIDE:

Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access
information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and
content measurement, audience research and services development. List of
Partners (service providers or vendors)

Reject All Accept All
Manage Preferences



Your Opt Out Preference Signal is Honored


MANAGE PREFERENCES

We process your data to deliver content or advertisements and measure the
delivery of such content or advertisements to extract insights about our
website. We share this information with our partners on the basis of consent and
legitimate interest. You may exercise your right to consent or object to a
legitimate interest, based on a specific purpose below or at a partner level in
the link under each purpose. These choices will be signaled to our vendors
participating in the Transparency and Consent Framework.
User ID: a8200981-31e0-4a99-89b4-30cc57b30b1f
Accept All


MANAGE CONSENT PREFERENCES

STRICTLY NECESSARY OR ESSENTIAL COOKIES

Always Active

These cookies are essential to provide you with services available through the
NPR Services and to enable you to use some of their features. For example, these
cookies allow NPR to remember your registration information while you are logged
in. Local station customization, the NPR Shop, and other interactive features
also use cookies. Without these cookies, the services that you have asked for
cannot be provided, and we only use these cookies to provide you with those
services.

Cookies Details‎

PERFORMANCE AND ANALYTICS COOKIES

Performance and Analytics Cookies

These cookies are used to collect information about traffic to our Services and
how users interact with the NPR Services. The information collected includes the
number of visitors to the NPR Services, the websites that referred visitors to
the NPR Services, the pages that they visited on the NPR Services, what time of
day they visited the NPR Services, whether they have visited the NPR Services
before, and other similar information. We use this information to help operate
the NPR Services more efficiently, to gather broad demographic information and
to monitor the level of activity on the NPR Services.

Cookies Details‎

FUNCTIONAL COOKIES

Functional Cookies

These cookies allow our Services to remember choices you make when you use them,
such as remembering your Member station preferences and remembering your account
details. The purpose of these cookies is to provide you with a more personal
experience and to prevent you from having to re-enter your preferences every
time you visit the NPR Services.

Cookies Details‎

TARGETING AND SPONSOR COOKIES

Targeting and Sponsor Cookies

These cookies track your browsing habits or other information, such as location,
to enable us to show sponsorship credits which are more likely to be of interest
to you. These cookies use information about your browsing history to group you
with other users who have similar interests. Based on that information, and with
our permission, we and our sponsors can place cookies to enable us or our
sponsors to show sponsorship credits and other messages that we think will be
relevant to your interests while you are using third-party services.

Cookies Details‎

STORE AND/OR ACCESS INFORMATION ON A DEVICE 118 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS PURPOSE

Store and/or access information on a device

Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers,
randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other
information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported
technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each
time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes
presented here.

List of IAB Vendors‎ | View Illustrations 

PERSONALISED ADVERTISING AND CONTENT, ADVERTISING AND CONTENT MEASUREMENT,
AUDIENCE RESEARCH AND SERVICES DEVELOPMENT 155 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS PURPOSE

Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement,
audience research and services development

 * USE LIMITED DATA TO SELECT ADVERTISING 108 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS PURPOSE
   
   Switch Label
   
   Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data,
   such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your
   device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for
   example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
   
   View Illustrations 
   Object to Legitimate Interests Remove Objection

 * CREATE PROFILES FOR PERSONALISED ADVERTISING 82 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS PURPOSE
   
   Switch Label
   
   Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit,
   content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about
   you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and
   other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or
   improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and
   personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present
   advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by
   this and other entities.
   
   View Illustrations 

 * USE PROFILES TO SELECT PERSONALISED ADVERTISING 80 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS
   PURPOSE
   
   Switch Label
   
   Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising
   profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites
   or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests
   and personal aspects.
   
   View Illustrations 

 * CREATE PROFILES TO PERSONALISE CONTENT 43 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS PURPOSE
   
   Switch Label
   
   Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you
   submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with
   other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service
   or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or
   improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible
   interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to
   present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests,
   such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is
   even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
   
   View Illustrations 

 * USE PROFILES TO SELECT PERSONALISED CONTENT 34 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS PURPOSE
   
   Switch Label
   
   Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content
   personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other
   services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible
   interests and personal aspects, such as by adapting the order in which
   content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find
   (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
   
   View Illustrations 

 * MEASURE ADVERTISING PERFORMANCE 140 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS PURPOSE
   
   Switch Label
   
   Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you
   interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for
   you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For
   instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led
   you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to
   understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
   
   View Illustrations 
   Object to Legitimate Interests Remove Objection

 * MEASURE CONTENT PERFORMANCE 69 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS PURPOSE
   
   Switch Label
   
   Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact
   with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g.
   reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance,
   whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a
   product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you
   visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of
   (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
   
   View Illustrations 
   Object to Legitimate Interests Remove Objection

 * UNDERSTAND AUDIENCES THROUGH STATISTICS OR COMBINATIONS OF DATA FROM
   DIFFERENT SOURCES 83 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS PURPOSE
   
   Switch Label
   
   Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user
   profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your
   interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising)
   content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which
   target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain
   contents).
   
   View Illustrations 
   Object to Legitimate Interests Remove Objection

 * DEVELOP AND IMPROVE SERVICES 108 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS PURPOSE
   
   Switch Label
   
   Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction
   with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and
   to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of
   audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or
   improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
   
   View Illustrations 
   Object to Legitimate Interests Remove Objection

 * USE LIMITED DATA TO SELECT CONTENT 33 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS PURPOSE
   
   Switch Label
   
   Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such
   as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device
   type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example,
   to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
   
   View Illustrations 
   Object to Legitimate Interests Remove Objection

List of IAB Vendors‎

ACTIVELY SCAN DEVICE CHARACTERISTICS FOR IDENTIFICATION 30 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS
PURPOSE

Actively scan device characteristics for identification

With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be
requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed
fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes
explained in this notice.

List of IAB Vendors‎

ENSURE SECURITY, PREVENT AND DETECT FRAUD, AND FIX ERRORS 106 PARTNERS CAN USE
THIS PURPOSE

Always Active

Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent
activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure
systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct
any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery
of content and ads and in your interaction with them.

List of IAB Vendors‎ | View Illustrations 

DELIVER AND PRESENT ADVERTISING AND CONTENT 104 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS PURPOSE

Always Active

Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to
ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to
facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.

List of IAB Vendors‎ | View Illustrations 

MATCH AND COMBINE DATA FROM OTHER DATA SOURCES 82 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS PURPOSE

Always Active

Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with
other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for
instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card
in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in
this notice.

List of IAB Vendors‎

LINK DIFFERENT DEVICES 59 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS PURPOSE

Always Active

In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be
considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your
household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both
your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet
connection on both devices).

List of IAB Vendors‎

IDENTIFY DEVICES BASED ON INFORMATION TRANSMITTED AUTOMATICALLY 103 PARTNERS CAN
USE THIS PURPOSE

Always Active

Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it
automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of
your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the
purposes exposed in this notice.

List of IAB Vendors‎
Back Button


COOKIE LIST



Search Icon
Filter Icon

Clear
checkbox label label
Apply Cancel
Consent Leg.Interest
checkbox label label
checkbox label label
checkbox label label

Reject All Confirm My Choices