Dollar Tree had a miserable quarter, and company management is chalking it up to a mix of factors: changing consumer demands on top of higher prices for fuel and electricity … and theft.
To hear executives at some of America’s biggest retailers tell it, consumers are strained for cash and buying less stuff, in a troubling sign of a slowing economy. That’s only half true. The consumer appetite that kept the US economy afloat through the worst of the pandemic and beyond remains hearty it’s just craving something new.