People study the performance of the U.S. economy from all kinds of different angles. And with the presidential election season in full swing, everyone’s awareness of high inflation, high interest rates, and low savings is even higher. Forget just monitoring gas prices—almost anything can turn into an esoteric indicator of the country’s fortunes.
But you know things are rough when Home Depot is concerned. For a company so closely tied to the housing market, perhaps they might know a thing or two about just how the economy is doing.
In a widely circulated earnings report for investors, the home improvement chain noted a dip in consumer spending, which they said was likely a result of high interest rates and economic woes. Home Depot blamed the economy for the fact that, within the last quarter, sales at its stores that had been open for at least 12 months dropped 3.6%. Additionally, the company expects stores’ end-of-year sales to fall up to 4% lower than last year.
“During the quarter, higher interest rates and greater macro-economic uncertainty pressured consumer demand more broadly, resulting in weaker spend across home improvement projects,” Ted Decker, Home Depot’s CEO, said in a news release.
Some of this pullback is also probably a result of people spending more on experiences, like travel and concerts, as opposed to home goods. During the pandemic, of course, it was the other way around, with customers stuck at home. What else was there to invest in other than your quarantined space, or to pay the professionals (who buy their tools at Home Depot) to fix it up for you?
Now, house prices are up and home renovation is bottom-of-mind, and Home Depot—and similar companies—are experiencing the brunt of it. Even real estate agents are losing their minds.
It’s not great! But maybe there’s a bright side. If people stop renovating their adorable 90s houses, they’ll stop making them ugly.
The post The Economy Is So Brutal That Even Home Depot Is Complaining appeared first on VICE.
The post The Economy Is So Brutal That Even Home Depot Is Complaining appeared first on VICE.
