I encountered this “joyful”
news at the Wall Street Journal (subscriber link):
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. estimated its sales increased 2.3% in
May on a same-store basis, at the low end of its previous forecast, sparking
concern that high gasoline and utility prices could sap retailers’ results
for the month.Wal-Mart, in a recorded message Saturday, cited pressure from $3-a-gallon
gasoline prices and “a more pronounced pay cycle.” That means customers
appear to be living paycheck to paycheck and clustering their spending
around paydays on the first and 15th of the month.
My inner-capitalist points out that it would be tempting to see this as
Wal-Mart spinning disappointing results in a way that doesn’t highlight that
they are starting to encounter viable competition as the growth-by-expansion
strategy looses steam domestically.
However, given that Wal-Mart’s core market is at the less affluent side of
the consumer spectrum….the explanation provided does seem pretty
plausible.