Walmart says lower-income shoppers appear to be increasingly “navigating financial stress.”
This comes as the so-called “K” shaped economy becomes more prominent, which happens when higher incomes see their purchasing power sharply rise as lower incomes lose purchasing power at the same rate — just like the letter “K.”
Walmart saw its comparable sales, excluding fuel, rise 4.1 per cent last quarter and e-commerce sales surge 26 per cent.
Walmart’s executive team spoke in a conference call with shareholders and analysts on Thursday after reporting quarterly earnings.
“We see with our customers that the high-income customer is spending with confidence into many categories, while the lower-income consumer is more budget conscious and perhaps navigating financial distress,” said executive vice-president and chief financial officer John David Rainey.
Consumers focusing on essentials like food amid the heightened cost of living has been a pattern for several years as spiking inflation drives prices higher, and leaves less wiggle room in household budgets for non-essentials.

Walmart says groceries in particular have been driving its growth, and that includes its Sam’s Club brand of stores, which it says typically appeals more to middle and higher-income households because of the extra membership fees.
Walmart says its Sam’s Club membership revenue grew more than 17 per cent globally, and 5.6 per cent in the U.S. alone.
Walmart’s CEO, John Furner, said the company is prioritizing offering value across Walmart grocery, as well as its Sam’s Club stores, to meet the demand of these cost-conscious consumers.
“This is an industry, particularly in food, where everyone is looking for value and has been for a really long time,” he said.
“What the team has done, in particular at both Sam’s Club and Walmart U.S. in the last quarter, is they focused on where are the places that we want to provide the very best value we can.”