#consumer-spending

#consumer-spending

Google's parent Alphabet Inc. is eliminating about 12,000 jobs, or six per cent of its workforce, it said in a staff memo Friday, as the technology sector reels from layoffs and companies stake their futures on artificial intelligence (AI).The cuts come at a delicate moment for the U.S. company, which has long been the leader in key areas of AI research.

Slightly more than half (53%) of CFOs expect to increase their marketing budgets by at least 3% this year, according to a Gartner survey of 300 top financial executives.Some 21% are planning on level funding, while 25% predict they will cut the marketing budget by at least 3%."CFOs are most polarized in this area with one quarter planning large increases in marketing of 10% or more, another quarter planning cuts, and the remaining half sitting somewhere in between," said Alexander Bant, chief of research in the Gartner Finance practice, in a statement.

Online retail sales set records on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.That's the conclusion of reports from Adobe Analytics and Salesforce, which differed on the exact amounts.U.S. Cyber Monday total online sales


     
Adobe: $11.3 billion - 5.8% increase from 2021
     
Salesforce: $12.2 billion - 8% increase from 2021


U.S. Black Friday total online sales


     Adobe: $9.1 billion - 2.3% increase from 2021
     Salesforce $15 billion - 12% increase from 2021


Total online U.S. sales from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday were $67.5 billion, a 9% increase from last year, according to Salesforce.

Well, friends, it's that time of year again.If you're a retailer, I hope you're hanging in there, all your campaigns are going according to plan, and the screaming-down-the-hall moments are few and far between.This also is the season when anyone with a blog, a column or a webinar will start predicting what will happen in marketing in 2023.

Britain's economy has returned to growth following a contraction in the previous month, official figures show.The Office for National Statistics said GDP rose by 0.2 per cent in April after shrinking by 0.3 per cent in March.The return to growth was boosted by consumer spending in shopping and hospitality.

More than 12 hospitality venues have shut each day in Britain over the past year amid the pressure of soaring energy costs, according to figures.High inflation and the cost-of-living crisis have resulted in the closure of 4,593 licensed hospitality premises over the year to March, according to the latest hospitality market monitor from industry experts at CGA by NIQ and AlixPartners.

The UK's private sector shrank for the eighth quarter in a row at the start of 2023 but saw slowdown in decline, according to new data.The Confederation for British Industry (CBI) said its latest growth report showed signs of green shoots amid projections that UK industry will return to growth in the next quarter.

Challenging economic conditions could stretch into the summer of 2023, experts have warned, with a new report stating Scotland will only return to growth next year.Projections suggest gross value added (GVA) a measure of the value of goods and services produced will fall by 0.6% during 2023, with this decline largely concentrated in the first six months.

People walk past a store in Berlin on Oct. 11, 2022.The German economy shrank unexpectedly in the first three months of this year.Michael Sohn/AP BERLIN The German economy shrank unexpectedly in the first three months of this year, marking the second quarter of contraction that is one definition of recession.

The German economy shrank unexpectedly in the first three months of this year, marking the second quarter of contraction that is one definition of recession.Data released Thursday by the Federal Statistical Office shows Germany's gross domestic product, or GDP, declined by 0.3% in the period from January to March.

German inflation slipped back slightly to 10% in November, official figures showed Tuesday, but galloping prices remain a major headache for Europe's biggest economy.The annual inflation rate was off its peak of 10.4%, reached in October, as the increase in energy prices over a year ago slowed to 38.4% from 43% a month earlier, the Federal Statistical Office said.

Marks & Spencer has revealed a jump in sales revenue due to higher prices, but profits have dipped over the past year on the back of higher costs.The high street chain said sales grew in both its clothing and homeware, and food divisions over the year to April, and profits were better than expected despite being down on last year.

A strange loop keeps happening in the U.S. economy: prices go up, forecasters predict that consumers will restrain their spending, and then we learn that consumers are unfazed by rising prices.The government's latest inflation numbers, released Tuesday, March 14, suggest that this is still happening.

Sport Direct owner Frasers Group will be hoping to reveal continued strong sales momentum next week despite pressure on consumer spending.etailers have broadly suffered a tough 2022 as surging cost inflation and cost-of-living worries for shoppers have cut into profits.However, the Mike Ashley firm has been one of few in the sector to see its shares lift over the past year after returning to bumper profits.

Jesse Watters' co-hosts cracked up when he admitted he has no idea what he's talking about during a segment on artificial intelligence.The table reacted to comments from Elon Musk, Bill Gates, and other tech leaders in a letter calling for a pause on the development of AI, saying it has profound risks to society.

Consumer demand for AI chatbot experiences has been funneling millions of dollars into mobile apps advertising their association with ChatGPT or OpenAI technologies.According to a new analysis of the AI app ecosystem from analytics provider data.ai,consumers this year have now spent over $14 million in the 10 highest-earning apps that advertise their use of ChatGPT or OpenAI technologies.

Inflation's temperature came down a little bit more last month, but the Federal Reserve's campaign to bring down high prices has grown even more complex in recent days.The Consumer Price Index, a closely watched gauge of inflation, showed that annual price increases continued to slow in February, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Tuesday.

Netflix (NFLX)has cut prices of its subscription plans in some countries as the streaming giant looks to maintain subscriber growth amid stiff competition and strained consumer spending.The stock fell nearly 5% on Thursday, underperforming the broader market and putting it on course for its worst day in more than two months.

Economic data indicating that the U.S. economy has remained resilient despite the Federal Reserve's tightening monetary policy led to a substantial increase in mortgage rates last week.Does this mean mortgage rates are close to reaching the 7% level again?"Mortgage rates have been rising after the jobs report was solid, retail sales beat expectations, and the homebuilder's confidence is rising," Logan Mohtashami, lead analyst for HousingWire, said.

Interest rates will need to rise again to prevent inflation becoming a persistent problem in the UK, a Bank of England policymaker has warned.A shortage of workers and high wage demands were likely to continue pushing up inflation, acting as a counterweight to falling energy prices, said Catherine Mann, a member of the Bank's monetary policy committee (MPC), which sets the base rate.

Homeowners with mortgages will be among the biggest losers from the cost of living crisis in 2023 due to interest rate rises, while the wealthiest UK households will benefit from better returns on savings and investments, according to analysis by a leading thinktank.The Resolution Foundation said the way the government had tackled the spike in inflation this year relying heavily on the Bank of England's interest rate rises put mortgage households at the heart of the Britain's income squeeze.

Covid-19 ripped a 400bn hole in the government's finances.The money was used largely to support the economy and it succeeded in allowing industries and workers to bounce back once restrictions were lifted.Most western countries did something similar, pushing the world's public and private debt mountain to $226tn.

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Primark owner Associated British Foods has upped its outlook for the full year after reporting a jump in sales at the budget fashion chain as consumer spending held up better than expected.

Yongyuan Dai
Shares of Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU) have seen a strong upside revaluation since reaching a low in November which has been related to a number of factors including (1) Improving investor sentiment, (2) The reopening of China's economy after a brutal 3-year stretch of COVID-19 lockdowns and (3) The company's February announcement of a $5B stock buyback that is expected to be completed by the end of FY 2025.

China's government said it expected the country's economy to grow around 5 percent this year, a goal that may be attainable as activity rebounds quickly but will still require considerable public borrowing and spending on roads, rail lines and other infrastructure.Li Keqiang, who will finish his decade as the country's premier in the coming days, announced the target on Sunday at the opening of the annual session of the National People's Congress.

The IDC Smartphone Tracker reported a pretty subpar record of worldwide smartphone shipments for Q4 2022 as the market contracted by 18.3% to 300.3 million shipments.All five major brands faced double-digit declines on the yearly basis compared to Q4 2021 and the total figure represents the largest quarterly decline.

In order to make any sort of predications about what the 2023 spring market, it's important to look at where we are today.The first few weeks of 2023 has been an intense time for the Boston condo for sale market, as we're beginning to see the effects of the boosted interest rates and uncertainty that have characterized the economy for the past several months.

Ad market changes, pressures on consumer spending and evolving media habits and preferences
It is no great surprise to read that the media industry will face a number of 'significant challenges' in this New Year.Journalism professor Damian Radcliffe addresses some of the biggest trends companies are likely to encounter in publishing in 2023.

The increased cost of goods saw Christmas retail sales values up almost 7% on last December, masking a nervous festive season for consumers, figures show.Total sales increased by 6.9% in December against an increase of 2.1% in December 2021 well above the three-month average growth of 4.4% and 12-month average growth of 3.1%, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC)-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor.

Rishi Sunak has made five key ambitious promises for this year halving inflation, growing the economy, cutting debt and NHS waiting lists, and stopping migrant boats crossing the Channel.With the NHS in crisis and the country in the grip of strikes by key workers, the prime minister called for a reasonable dialogue with the unions and said ministers hugely value public-sector employees such as nurses.

Apple is raising the price of battery replacements for all out-of-warranty iPhone models prior to the current iPhone 14 lineup, the company confirmed on its website.Starting March 1, Apple (AAPL) will charge $89 for battery replacements for iPhone X through iPhone 13 models, a $20 increase from the current price of a new battery.

Even as the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite dipped into a bear market this year, some of the smartest hedge fund managers out there weren't dissuaded and kept buying growth stocks eagerly.Karthik Sarma of SRS Investment Management took a stake in Shopify in the first quarter, and he built it into his fifth-largest position by the end of the third quarter.

After a challenging year for the tech market, when the Nasdaq-100 Technology Sector index plunged 32% since January, many of the world's most valuable companies are trading at bargain prices.Microsoft and Alphabet are titans of the tech world, yet have suffered double-digit declines in their shares this year.

The collapse in the personal US saving rate to near a record low has fueled a narrative that consumers are clearly strapped heading into 2023.This is worrisome because consumer spending accounts for about two thirds of the economy.Heck, one widely shared analysis by Federal Reserve analysts estimated that by this past June, households had run through half the savings buffer built up during the pandemic.

The UK economy is on track to shrink by 1.3% in 2023 amid a recession which is set to last until the end of next year, according to a new economic forecast.Economists at KPMG have predicted that the UK has already entered a shallow but protracted recession amid continued inflation and higher interest rates.

Holiday shoppers are sending a message to retailers: Lower your prices.U.S. shoppers pulled back on spending just as the holiday season began, a sign that high prices and rising interest rates are shifting consumer spending habits.Retail sales fell in November by 0.6%, the biggest drop in nearly a year, after rising 1.3% in October, the Commerce Department said on Thursday.

| By Antoinette Siu



The latest Dentsu global ad spend forecast shows 2023 will experience some growth - despite economic slowdowns - along with an optimistic view of the years ahead.Dentsu released its global ad spending report for 2023 on Thursday that predicts the upcoming year will see some slowdown, with worldwide spending expected to increase 3.8% to reach $740.9 billion - a slowing pace compared to an increase of 8% in 2022.

Bitcoin was in the red for a second consecutive session, as markets continued to digest the latest U.S. retail sales figures.Sales rose by more than expected in October, coming in at 1.3%, versus expectations of a 1% increase.The result fueled market belief that the U.S Federal Reserve will now pivot its policy.

The Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) has said the autumn statement does not go far enough and lacks clarity, as entertainment trade bodies and industry groups react to the Chancellor's announcement.Jeremy Hunt delivered his autumn statement to MPs in the House of Commons on Thursday, during which he said he was having to make difficult decisions to ensure a shallower downturn, but the economy was still expected to shrink 1.4% in 2023.

Even after adjusting for whopping restaurant price increases, consumer spending on what government statisticians call food services and drinking places is up more than 7% from what it was before the pandemic.Meanwhile, employment at food services and drinking places is down more than 4%.That can be irritating for diners.