Info graph via Goodshop.com
Buddy emailed me a business article from USA Today (10 retailers take two-thirds of your money). Subject showed that only a few retailers make up a major portion of the market.
Something that caught my eye was that of Walmart and where their revenue comes from. Walmart is a smart company and are more global than what people think. How global? Check this stat out:
It’s true that Wal-Mart has a much larger international presence than other retail giants – as roughly 41% of revenue comes from outside the U.S.
How people listened to music in the 1980’s with their portable radios
Present day device for a portable speaker which you can listen to music from a device like your cellphone. You can buy it at Amazon.com for $36
This is the TDK A12 TREK Micro NFC Bluetooth Portable Mini Wireless Outdoor Speaker. It weighs 6.6 ounces and product dimension of 3.2 x 3.2 x 1.2 inches. Power source is one AAA battery.
H/T Washington Post
Via CNSNEWS.COM –
The average price of a pound of ground beef climbed to another record high in February, hitting $4.238 per pound, according to data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
In August 2014, the average price for a pound of all types of ground beef topped $4 for the first time, hitting $4.013, according to the BLS.
In September, the average price jumped to $4.096 per pound; in October, the average price climbed to $4.154 per pound; and in November, the average price climbed to $4.201 per pound.
In December, the price declined slightly to $4.156 per pound. In January 2015, ground beef hit $4.235 per pound and in February 2015, according to the latest data from the BLS, the price of ground beef hit the highest level ever recorded of $4.238.
A year ago, in February 2014, the average price for a pound of ground beef was $3.555 per pound. Since then, the average price has increased 19.2 percent in one year.
Five years ago, in February 2010, the average price of a pound of ground beef was $2.277, according to the BLS. The price has since climbed by $1.961 per pound, or an increase of 86.1 percent.
Read the rest here.
Dr. Ed Yardeni has put together a post showing the consumer has saved dollars YTD on gasoline prices, the savings is being eaten up by higher medical expenses.
Last week, I observed that while consumers are spending less of their budgets on gasoline, they are spending more on health care. The latest data through January show that the percentage of current-dollar consumption for gasoline plunged from last year’s high of 3.2% to 2.1% in January. Consumers saved $133 billion (saar) on gasoline over this period.
On the other hand, the percentage of their outlays for health care goods and services rose from last year’s low of 20.0% during March to 20.6% during January. I received lots of inquiries about this topic. Most readers want to know if this is attributable to Obamacare, which seems to have raised health insurance premiums, deductibles, and copays. I think so, but I don’t have the data to corroborate this conjecture.
Health care consumption includes spending paid for by both insurance and government programs, as well as out-of-pocket costs. Presumably and anecdotally, the latter have risen sharply. However, that wouldn’t necessarily bloat overall spending, though more out-of-pocket outlays would depress spending on other goods and services.
During the holidays billions of dollars in gift cards are received. Amazingly these cards start slipping through the cracks to never be used. How much is still lingering around:
“People are letting cash slip away that they could be using,” says John Kiernan, a senior analyst with CardHub. Kiernan, citing CardHub numbers, estimates that some $44 billion in unredeemed gift-card value has been accumulating since 2008.
Unused gift cards aren’t just free money for retailers either:
For retailers, however, gift-card sales don’t count as revenue until cards are used, meaning that retailers are holding $44 billion in liabilities against these unused cards.
NYPost also provides more information on how consumers can cash in the cards as well.
Really fascinating piece of the economy that is bigger than what one thinks.
Back in July I wrote about beer going up on sale and regular prices. Now the complete increase has taken affect. I took this photo today at the same Meijer’s I always shop at:
Case of beer is now hitting almost $20 warm. For many months the sale price ran $16.50.
Janet Yellen has her foot on the printing presses from most recent money supply data and consumers are spending more. Watch for more price increases over the next few months.
Consumer Price Index numbers were released Wednesday. Buried in the report were serious rises in year to date price increases. Here is list of price increases in the last 12 months:
Milk 8.7%
U.S. meat 13% (beef and veal prices up 18% and pork prices up 11.4%)
Butter 24%
Clothing 3.7%
Women’s Outerwear 11%
Children’s Footwear 7.8%
Prescription Drugs 3.8%
Lodging Away From Home 5%
Here is the complete article showing prices increases and decreases.
Hoosier Econ 