Dick’s, Foot Locker, TJX: The brands that won when gas last fell

This crunch in disposable income due to higher fuel prices has made consumers think twice before buying discretionary items such as apparel or footwear and impacted sales growth at firms selling discretionary items between late February and mid-June.

But when gas prices fall, some segments are expected to see a rebound, as witnessed in ****. Michael Gunther, senior vice-president, Research & Market Intelligence at Consumer Edge, told Fibre*Fashion in an interview that footwear and apparel, as well as luxury segments, have seen an improvement in consumer spending growth late June.

According to data shared by Gunther, when comparing the end of June with mid-April, a time when the war was still ongoing, footwear and athletic apparel have improved about three percentage points and luxury, about a four-percentage point.

He highlighted that improvement in luxury has a lot to do with absorbing price increases and has helped in growth. Gunther noted that even though gas prices started to come down, they are still well above where they were before the war started.