Win the Week™ Retail Newsletter (July 6, 2024)
Dear Reader,
Welcome to our latest edition of the Win the Week newsletter, covering consumer spending trends for the week ending July 6, 2024. This week's data is particularly interesting, as it includes the 4th of July holiday, which often impacts spending patterns. Let's dive into the latest Facteus transaction data and compare the current numbers with previous weeks.
This week's highlights are featured below.
General Retail Spending Trends
General retail spending continued to drop this week, even though more big-name brands, including Temu, Walmart, and Target, enjoyed significant upticks in their average ticket prices. Notably, the weekly spend and the average ticket price at Amazon fell the most, declining far more than any other big name brand just a couple of weeks ahead of July Prime Day in 2024. Overall, in general retail spending:
Weekly spend growth: -0.8%
Average ticket growth: -0.4%
Fast Fashion Spending
Fast fashion spending was down over the past week, with some shrinkage in the weekly spend while average ticket prices bounced around. In fact, the average ticket price at Zara fell the most, dropping by 15%. In contrast, competitors H&M and SHEIN saw growth in the average ticket prices over the past week. Overall, in fast fashion:
Weekly spend growth: -3.0%
Average ticket growth: -3.3%
TikTok Shop Spending
TikTok Shop spending continued to grow over the last week, making major strides at a time when retail spending seems to be more volatile and consumers tend to be particularly price sensitive. Overall, with TikTok Shop spending:
Weekly spend growth: 4.7%
Average ticket growth: 6.1%
Other Retail Spending Trends
Additional retail sectors saw some notable fluctuations in consumer spending over the past week, with remarkable growth in grocery and home improvement spending while fast food spending continued to fall.
Fast Food & Restaurant spend growth: -4.2%
Grocery spend growth: 8.5%
Wholesale Club spend growth: 3.3%
Discount Store spend growth: -0.3%
Hardware & Home Supply spend growth: 7.7%
Key Takeaways & Comparisons
Looking at retail transaction data over the past month or so uncovers some key insights and trends about consumer spending across several sectors:
General Retail: Slight decline at -0.8%, compared to -0.5% last week. The 4th of July holiday doesn't seem to have significantly boosted spending in this category.
Fast Fashion: Returned to negative territory with -3.0% growth, after last week's neutral 0.0%. This could indicate reduced clothing purchases around the holiday.
TikTok Shop: Continued its positive trend for the third consecutive week, accelerating from 2.9% to 4.7% growth. The platform seems to be gaining traction with consumers.
Fast Food & Restaurant: Remained negative at -4.2%, similar to last week's -4.4%. The holiday doesn't appear to have driven significant dining out spending.
Grocery: A substantial jump to 8.5% growth from last week's -0.5%, likely driven by holiday-related food and beverage purchases.
Hardware & Home Supply: Rebounded strongly to 7.7% growth from last week's -2.2%, possibly due to holiday-related home improvement projects or outdoor equipment purchases.
5-Week Retail Spending Trends & Analysis
Taking a birds-eye view of the retail transaction data, some longer-term trends in retail spending start to crystallize:
General Retail: Relatively stable over the past two weeks after previous declines.
Fast Fashion: Continues to show volatility, swinging between growth and decline.
TikTok Shop: Maintained positive growth for three consecutive weeks, showing consistent consumer interest.
Fast Food & Restaurant: Two weeks of negative growth after previous positive trends.
Grocery: Significant uptick this week, breaking the previous declining trend.
The 4th of July holiday appears to have had a mixed impact on consumer spending. While categories like grocery and hardware & home supply saw substantial growth, others like general retail and fast fashion didn't receive the same holiday-related spending boost. This could indicate that consumers focused their holiday spending on food, beverages, and home-related items related to events and experiences, rather than general shopping or clothing.
As we move further into summer, we'll be watching to see if these holiday-influenced trends continue or if spending patterns shift again. The continued growth in TikTok Shop is also a trend worth monitoring, as it suggests increasing consumer comfort with this relatively new platform.
Remember, Facteus analyzes over $3.1 trillion in consumer spending from more than 120 million individual consumers, providing comprehensive insights across various industries.
If you have any questions or would like to explore how Facteus' data can support your business decisions, please don't hesitate to reach out.
Best regards,
The Facteus Team