The world’s largest retailer Wal-Mart has said that its same store sales in May rose 2.3%, prompting concern that high fuel and utility prices could have a negative impact on the company’s results.
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“As discussed in our first quarter earnings call, we continue to see higher gasoline and utility prices impacting our customers,” the retailer said. “As a result, we have seen more pronounced paycheck cycles.” Meaning that US consumers appear to be living from one paycheck to the next, clustering spending around paydays.
Reporting results for the most recent quarter, Wal-Mart warned that higher prices had been holding sales growth back.
Wal-Mart’s official sales release for the May reporting period will be delivered on 1 June.
