What It Means When Millionaires Flock to the Discount Stores

High-end consumer discretionary spending is under pressure

Highlights

• High-end consumer discretionary spending is under pressure

• S&P 500’s rally is the fastest since 2009

• Bond market finally responding normally to bearish data

• Key Senators divided on path for House bill

Key Takeaways

• Discount Retailers See Traffic Across Income Groups: The FT runs with this must-read: Wealthier Americans flock to dollar stores as tariffs stoke consumer angst. Recessions always start with this sort of behavioral shift. Wealthier households are flocking to dollar stores, which was the main message this week from the two biggest operators, Dollar Tree and Dollar General. Both revealed that they are seeing rising inbound traffic from middle- and higher-income households. Dollar Tree reported that 2.6 million new customers visited its 9,000 stores in the first quarter, with the majority of them from higher income brackets.