Supposedly where we live is one of the better financial areas.
We started seeing an interesting trend last November, the lack of shoppers a few days before the normal paydays of the 1st and the 15th of the month. Besides less shoppers, there is less traffic around the shopping areas.
Last Thursday, we did our monthly Costco shopping trip. There were no lines at the Costco gas station, and we pulled up to a pump at 10:30 am. Then, we went into the main Costco parking lot and there were parking places everywhere, no need to circle or head a quarter of a mile away to get a parking place.
The only crowds in the store were at the food sample areas, a lot more than we normally see. Customers were doing some real chowing down at the free sample stands.
When we finished shopping, we walked up to an open cash register and checked out with no waiting.
Then, we did our monthly semi junk food stop at the local Popeyes. Again no parking problems and we walked right up to the order counter and placed our order. There was a handful of customers versus a normal full house with customers waiting to place their orders.
On the way home, instead of getting stopped at traffic lights due to heavy traffic, we made it home with only one red light out of 20 something traffic lights due to the light traffic.
There was a similar lack of customers at Raleys and Walmart when we finished our shopping on the next day, Friday. We walked up to the cash registers with no one standing in line ahead of us.
The above is not scientific and is only our observation in one market area. Our unscientific observation is that many people are not shopping until paydays. Maybe they are maxed out on their credit cards before and after Christmas.
-We started seeing an interesting trend last November, the lack of shoppers a few days before the normal paydays of the 1st and the 15th of the month.=
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In my rural area we gauge shopping by ebt fillup days. The small family owned market with the best in store butcher meat market in the county stocks up the lowest price cuts in the mega family packs the day before ebt day. The only time I can afford to buy any meat at all on SS so I buy my meat while I have the first choice. When the ebters hit, they hit hard piling up carts with 10-15 family packs of meat that retirees can’t even dream of buying in that quantity.