http://retailsails.com/2009/08/13/u-s-retail-sales-disappoint-in-july/ Independent. Insightful. Intelligent. Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:50:51 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ http://retailsails.com/2009/08/13/u-s-retail-sales-disappoint-in-july/#comment-82 Fri, 14 Aug 2009 05:53:38 +0000 http://retailsails.com/?p=4240#comment-82 [...] (see earnings call transcript), and things picked up today with the Commerce Department reporting July Retail Sales and retail behemoth Wal-Mart (WMT) reporting this morning, followed by earnings reports from [...]

]]> http://retailsails.com/2009/08/13/u-s-retail-sales-disappoint-in-july/#comment-80 Thu, 13 Aug 2009 17:16:40 +0000 http://retailsails.com/?p=4240#comment-80 Retailers have absolutely no pricing power right now, both in core staples, but especially in discretionary goods. They can maintain unit sales with deep discounts, but absent those discounts they can’t generate units. They can’t move the top line, margins remain under pressure, and earnings continue to be driven by cost cutting. It’s not a good formula, and the longer the consumer holds back, the more it becomes a cultural norm rather than just a rational economic response. This is not likely to be reversed any time soon, and until then retailers have to scratch and claw as best they can.

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