Doug McMillon, Walmart President and CEO, has said that inflation for discretionary items like clothing is easing up. It is good news for customers and also a welcome development for Walmart as the retail giant has been plagued by a glut of inventory in non-food items for much of 2022.
Talking to CNBC, Doug McMillon said that, “In toys, sporting goods, apparel, categories like that, prices have come down more aggressively. We’re still inflated but we’re not inflated nearly as much as we are in the other categories.”
The Bureau of Labour Statistics’s data says that apparel, toys and sporting goods all hovered in the 3 per cent to 4 per cent price-increase range – far lower than the 7.7 per cent average rate of inflation for all items in October.
With inflationary pressures, which have tightened the wallets of millions of American households, customers more often left items on shelves that weren’t needed to survive on a day-to-day basis. Especially, apparel has been a boogieman for Walmart.
In earnings calls throughout the year, Walmart US President McMillon and CEO John Furner and others in leadership have all said that the category is contributing to excess inventory.
Even though inventory increases have slowed – it was 13 per cent for the third quarter – apparel still remains a laser focus for Walmart leadership.
