Posted By thestatedtruth.com on April 28, 2011

A sign of the (hard) times……..despite what the government portends!

The head of Wal-Mart’s U.S. operations warned Wednesday talking to USA Today….”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. “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.

“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.

Wal-Mart which averages 140 million shoppers weekly to its stores in the United States, is considered a barometer of the health of the consumer and the economy.  Wal-Mart has struggled with seven straight quarters of sales declines in its stores.

Categories: Commentary, Economy, National News, Wall Street
Tags: Hard Times, Squeezed Consumer;Running Out Of Money, Wal-Mart