- Walmart and Target reported blowout sales results for the second quarter of the year, increasing that both companies are largely attributed to increases in stimulus controls.
- With the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, the federal government infused $ 2.2 trillion into the national economy and distributed 160 million checks in an effort to offset unemployment levels and an emerging recession.
- These are the top 9 items that Americans spend stimulating money in Walmart and Target stores.
- Visit the Business Insider website for more stories.
Big box retailers like Walmart and Target flourished during the pandemic, thanks in part to go-to destinations for Americans to pass on their incentive checks.
Both companies reported second-quarter blowout results this week, with online sales at Walmart doubling from the same period last year and tripling at Target – the latter of which also reported record-high sales growth of the same store of 24%. Executives at both companies attributed success in the second quarter to the impact of the 160 million incentives controlled to Americans, part of the federal government’s $ 2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.
Their success also comes in addition to a growing list of retailers who have recently filed for bankruptcy and closed permanent stores during the pandemic, including Neiman Marcus, Lord & Taylor, J.Crew, and Brooks Brothers, among others.
Managers at both Walmart and Target said they experienced heavy sales spikes at the start of the quarter when controls were distributed, which then began to stabilize towards the end of the earnings period. Looking ahead, both looked cautiously optimistic on talks with investors about upcoming sales spikes catalyzed by the expected second-rate stimulus checks, despite stopped discussions on the matter in Congress.
“We see [sales] be careful and know a lot of conversation about the impact of incentives, what this means going forward, “Target CEO Brian Cornell said this week in an interview with investors. And we certainly hope that there will be a second round of incentives for small businesses and American consumers. “
We took a closer look at what consumers bought from Target and Walmart with their incentive money.
