Despite the Biden administration claiming ‘Bidenomics’ has kick-started an economic renaissance and the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index for July rising, cautionary signs from corporations suggest inflation continues to crush the pocketbooks of the working class. The latest warning comes from Coca-Cola’s CEO, who highlighted a trend of consumers becoming more budget-conscious and switching to less expensive private-label brands.
“Across the sector, consumers are increasingly cost-conscious. They’re looking for value and stocking up on items on sale,” CEO James Quincey told investors during the company’s second-quarter earnings call on Wednesday.
“As we look towards the second half, the global inflationary environment is impacting consumers and our business differently across geographies. In developed markets like North America and Western Europe, inflation is beginning to moderate, and labor markets remain strong. Our elasticities continue to be relatively low, however, we have seen some willingness to switch to private label brands in certain categories,” Quincey added.
Several companies, such as railroad company Union Pacific and containerboard company Packaging Corp of America, warned about softening consumer demand.
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