Prices at pump stinging retailers

Wal-Mart and its customers are hurting as high gas prices hit the world’s largest retailer harder than almost any other retailer.

Wal-Mart’s meager 1.1% gain in same-store sales in May, reported Thursday, shows the lingering effects of gas prices, even as they creep downward. May sales at some midtier retailers, including Macy’s (M) and J.C. Penney, also slumped as shoppers curbed purchases in the face of still-high gasoline prices and a sluggish housing market.


A majority of Wal-Mart shoppers “feel that there is too much month at the end of their paychecks all or most of the time,” says Pam Goodfellow, a senior analyst with the consumer insights firm BIGresearch.

“Overall, Wal-Mart shoppers are more affected by pump prices than consumers in general.”

USA Today