Affecting pureplay (e.g. Asos, Boohoo) as well as omnichannel (Next, M&S and others)
UPS 2023 Earnings call (reported by @rickwatson on LinkedIn) seems to suggest a similar picture in the US, maybe not quite as bad as UK
UK energy costs in a weirdly structured UK energy market and galloping food and mortgage interest cost increases has savaged UK household discretionary income, with a lot of trade shifting to “instalment payment” e.g. Klarna et al.
Shockingly it is possible to use Klarna for ecommerce groceries (in some cases) which drives a coach and horses through the ethos of relevant consumer credit protection laws in the UK (which are structured around credit being used for more durable assets).
I think most economies are feeling some degree of consumer pressure. Discretionary spending is under pressure as customers cut back to stay afloat.
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When the US economy gets a cold, UK and Europe get the flu. I definitely feel like the US is on the better side of the world economy situation at the moment.
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