Wal-Mart’s Customers Are Running Out of Money

After it destroyed neighborhood retailers, forced manufacturing overseas and helped bankrupt the middle class, Wal-Mart is suddenly surprised to learn that its customers are too poor to shop. But the company’s top brass won’t admit that they are to blame for their shoppers’ poverty. Instead, they say it’s all about high gasoline prices and plan on expanding Wal-Mart’s e-commerce division to pick up the slack in sales. Yeah, that’ll solve the problem. –YL

CNN Money:

Wal-Mart’s core shoppers are running out of money much faster than a year ago due to rising gasoline prices, and the retail giant is worried, CEO Mike Duke said Wednesday.

“We’re seeing core consumers under a lot of pressure,” Duke said at an event in New York. “There’s no doubt that rising fuel prices are having an impact.”

Wal-Mart shoppers, many of whom live paycheck to paycheck, typically shop in bulk at the beginning of the month when their paychecks come in.

Lately, they’re “running out of money” at a faster clip, he said.

“Purchases are really dropping off by the end of the month even more than last year,” Duke said. “This end-of-month [purchases] cycle is growing to be a concern.

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