A little retail therapy, anyone?

**SPEAKER_1** (0:00)
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**SPEAKER_2** (1:00)
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**Kimberly Adams** (2:01)
Looking ahead to data on consumer spending and the costs of losing in the World Cup.
From Marketplace in New York, I'm Kimberly Adams. It's already been a big week for economic data. We got inflation measures for consumers and producers, both showing prices rising more slowly than experts expected. Later today, we'll learn how consumers responded to those prices in June when we get monthly retail sales data from the US. Census Bureau, which provides a snapshot of how we spent our shopping dollars. Marketplace's Nancy Marshall Ginzer has this consumer pulse check on the trends in forming those numbers.

**Nancy Marshall Gensler** (2:36)
Consumers are stressed. They don't like the prices they're paying at the grocery store and the gas station. But splurging once in a while can make them feel better. Retail therapy, anyone?

**Katie Thomas** (2:47)
So, I impulse bought these little side tables from TikTok shops.

**Nancy Marshall Gensler** (2:53)
That's Katie Thomas. She analyzes consumer behavior at the Kearney Consumer Institute. And she says people are still spending on things that bring them joy.

**Katie Thomas** (3:02)
A lot of people actually see a vacation or a weekend trip as something they're willing to protect and willing to sacrifice elsewhere for.

**Nancy Marshall Gensler** (3:13)
So, maybe they buy the off-brand at the grocery stores. They're saving up for that super expensive plane ticket or a new pair of shoes from their favorite luxury brand, says Sonia Lipinski of Alex Partners. They just did a footwear survey. Lipinski says shoppers are still buying expensive shoes, but fewer pairs.

**Sonia Lipinski** (3:32)
So, 30 to 40 percent of consumers are saying they want to buy the brands that they want. They are just not going to buy as many pairs of shoes as they had in years past.

**Nancy Marshall Gensler** (3:43)
Dan North is Senior Economist at Allianz Trade North America. He says this pattern of consumer spending will continue as long as people feel secure in their jobs.

**Dan North** (3:54)
It's a no hire, no fire situation, that's for sure. But if you look at the unemployment rate and the amount of jobs created every month, this is what's helping people feel secure.

**Nancy Marshall Gensler** (4:05)
North says if the job market holds up, the consumer will too. I'm Nancy Marshall Gensler for Marketplace.

**SPEAKER_9** (4:28)
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