HOUSTON – It has not been a good year for super discount retailers.
PREVIOUS: Houston’s 99 Cents Only stores shutting down, here are other low-cost options
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Just this week, Big Lots, entering into Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, and announced the closure of four Houston-area stores in a wider move to close 340 stores nationwide:
- 10951 FM 1960 W Houston
- 8210 KIRBY Dr. Houston
- 4815 East Fwy. Baytown
- 5910 Broadway Galveston
99 Cents Only stores disappeared earlier this year, closing 16 locations in the Houston area.
MORE: Big Lots files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, plans to sell assets to Nexus Capital
Even more localized discount chains are having trouble; Dirt Cheap, a localized discount clearance chain has announced it is closing all of its stores, which are primarily concentrated in the southeast. A store directory lists a Pasadena location.
Some Houston-area residents, especially those living in low-income areas rely on discount clearance stores such as these to combat increasing grocery prices and as well as respite in the city’s food deserts.
In the past, KPRC 2 has shared other discounted grocery-store options. However, when it comes to items like clothes, where we’re hearing stories of thrift stores people normally shop at raising their respective prices, how are Houstonians getting by?
With the presidential election in its final weeks, Thursday’s figures provided the latest sign that household spending is fueling a steady economic expansion even while inflation has cooled. In his campaign for the White House, Donald Trump has insisted that sweeping new tariffs on all imports and lower corporate taxes are needed to deliver healthy growth. Vice President Kamala Harris has countered with proposals for expanding tax credits for families with children and subsidizing home construction to try to lower housing costs.
“Retail sales came in well above expectations and continue to defy the ‘weak economy’ thesis,” said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist for LPL Financial, a wealth management firm.
Clothing store purchases leapt 1.5% last month, though sales at electronics and furniture stores dropped.
MORE: U.S. shoppers spent more at retailers last month in latest sign consumers are driving growth
Last week, the government reported that consumer prices rose just 2.4% in September from a year earlier, down from a peak inflation rate of 9.1% in June 2022 and barely above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. With prices coming under control, the Fed cut its benchmark interest rate last month for the first time in four years by a larger-than-usual half-point. By year’s end, economists expect two additional Fed rate cuts, of smaller quarter-point increments, which should help ease borrowing costs over time.
Many analysts say they think cooler inflation and lower borrowing rates will help support the economy in the coming months. Last quarter, the economy grew at a solid 3% annual rate.
SUGGESTED: Wealthier Americans are driving retail spending and powering US economy
Still, research by the Fed has found that it’s mostly upper- and middle-income Americans who are driving the increased retail spending by consumers. Many lower-income households, by contrast, have struggled to keep up with sharply higher prices and interest rates, and have increased their spending by much less.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
