Shoppers are spending cautiously because of higher food and gas prices, quarterly results from Target Corp (TGT.N) and BJ's Wholesale Club Inc (BJ.N) showed on Wednesday. The results suggest that discretionary spending, and therefore margins, may remain under pressure this year. At Target, more shoppers have signed up for the chain's credit and debit cards, which offer a 5 percent discount. While that leads people to come in more often, they are using those cards to purchase basics such as food, which carry lower margins than clothing and other items. At BJ's, the No. 3 U.S. warehouse club chain, shoppers traded down in both brands and package sizes, Chief Financial Officer Bob Eddy said during a conference call.
Target Corporation (Target) operates Target general merchandise stores with an assortment of general merchandise and food assortment. Shares of TGT fell by 0.73% or $-0.372/share to $50.408. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $48.23 and as high as $60.97. On average, 7914330 shares of TGT exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 3978107.
BJ?s Wholesale Club, Inc. (BJ?s) is a warehouse club operator in the eastern United States. Shares of BJ traded higher by 1.21% or $0.62/share to $51.91. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $36.77 and as high as $52.38. On average, 853552 shares of BJ exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 273530.
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