我是 LongbridgeAI，我可以總結文章信息。達樂首席執行官 Todd Vasos 警告稱，高昂的燃料和通貨膨脹成本正在導致中等和中上收入家庭面臨財務壓力。他指出，即使是年收入超過 100,000 美元的顧客也在改變購物行為，像低收入消費者一樣每次購物減少支出。這一趨勢突顯了在油價飆升的背景下，消費者面臨的更廣泛壓力，並促使政治界在中期選舉前展開關於能源救助的討論
Speaking at Goldman Sachs' 33rd Annual Global Retailing Conference on Tuesday morning, Dollar General CEO Todd Vasos offered a downbeat assessment of its customer base,warning that financial stress is spreading up the income ladder to middle- and upper-middle-income households.
Years of elevated prices for everyday goods, compounded by gasoline prices above $4 a gallon nationally and $6 a gallon for diesel, are certaintly reshaping consumer habits across income cohorts.Vasos said that evencustomers earning $100,000 or more, whom Dollar General classifies as higher income, are increasingly under stress.
Vasos explained:
And we've always said here at Dollar General for our core customer that any time that gas prices get anywhere close to four and then crests $4 a gallon, the customer changes their their shopping behavior, stays closer to home normally shops more often, but buys less on each occasion.
And that's exactly what the core customer is faring. But the interesting thing with this economy, because of the other sustained headwinds of inflation over the years that have passed, even that middle to upper middle is acting more like a lower income shopper these days. And they had that same characteristic. And then high income for us is that that $100,000 plus crowd.
The CEO of Dollar General, which has more than 21,000 stores nationwide, offers a real-time snapshot of consumer spending patterns and sentiment.
On Monday, Jefferies food analyst Scott Marks also flagged new pressure on convenience store customers as gasoline and diesel prices soared in August.
All of this highlights the Trump administration's urgent search for energy price relief ahead of the midterms. Export restrictions on diesel entered the conversation earlier today with Senate Majority Leader John Thune. The administration is also considering measures to increase U.S. refining capacity (yet capacity is at 98%). Whether Trump officials will suspend federal fuel taxes remains to be seen.