From "No One’s Buying? Maybe Consumers Are Just 'Choiceful,' Executives Say. A new way to characterize unenthusiastic consumers has overtaken earnings calls" (NYT).
We already had the word "choosy." I think what we're talking about is being choosy where one of the options is to choose nothing at all.
There are some really old examples of "choiceful" in the OED, but they're about having a wide array of choices and not holding back from choosing. And even "choosy" lacks the connotation these executives are trying convey. They're saying people are averse to buying at all. I think the best word is "frugal."
పోస్ట్లు
97 కామెంట్లు:
Seems "problematic".
Target's appeal is becoming more selective
We are in the dieback phase for giant box stores.
The builders and entrepreneurs built Walmart.
Then the managers and rent seekers moved in and got sweet deals on “Free Trade” while we shipped jobs to China.
Now the industry is populated by rent seeking mediocrities that make up words when they fail.
Or "broke" is another.
Frugal? That's a cheap shot.
Ungood use of language.
After beating up on people for using the descriptor AWFL I'm kinda surprised you didn't pick up on the likely reason 'choosy' along with 'picky' and 'frugal' are being avoided.
This is an election year so BlackrockStatestreet companies concerned about boosting their social credit score are trying to make it sound like the economy is soft when it isn’t…
Some people don't like what they've been selling and it has nothing to do with the merchandise.
Maybe everybody just has all the junk they need.
Q4 GDPNow is a futhermucking 5.1 percent. This after ‘consensus ‘ estimates missed the pervious quarter by a whopping 200bp and that was when all the data was in for the quarter. It is a manipulation, all part of the Democratic Socialist ‘affordability’ scam for the elections…
Target. Macy's. Retailers whose primary customers are affluent women.
Google AI tells me that the strongest sector of growth in December 2025 was "consumer spending."
Nobody's buying at Macy's or Target. Maybe talk to someone where consumers are spending?
"No one is buying" is such a broad statement it is essentially meaningless. We just had record-setting black Friday to kick off the retail season and more was spent on travel in Q4 than in any quarter stretching back to the pandemic. Stock market at record highs. Super-low unemployment. Every auto manufacturer in America is hiring because good cars are being made again.
Yes people are being selective, but they are spending money.
I think is was actually 5.5% GDP growth in Q4. Just like predicted RIGHT HERE.
Or what Gilbar said.
Target shit on straight white customers and America responded to that incentive. Not too many Macy's left OPEN and operable AFAICS. Maybe measure stores that have foot traffic or internet sales for better accuracy NYT.
Serious Question:
please post, if you've been to a Target store in the last year?
i've been to Walmart 3 times in the last 6 months; i literally can't remember the last time i went to a Target.
i don't think it's been in the last ten years.
The economy seems to be growing nonetheless.
Target’s quality of clothes and home goods has dropped like a rock. It also pushes mediocre store brands too much and can’t manage inventory. Costco has replaced Target in suburban America as the go to store.
Macy’s is a train wreck of a store living on past glory. It will be gone in five years.
I never go to a place like Target or Walmart. I actively avoid it even when Meade wants to go for some reason. I always prefer buying things like that on Amazon. I rarely even go to the kind of store that I would go to to buy particular things that I need to see in person such as a clothing store. I don’t think I’ve been to a clothing store in over a year. I go to the grocery store that’s all. It’s not even that I’m frugal or choosy. I just don’t wanna spend my time like that. So I’m not the person to ask
Like Spinal Tap, some products' appeal is becoming more selective.
To add to rehajm: yes, why this article now? The most recent stat in the article is from May 2025. So they're implying a drowsy Trump economy without actually lying.
Also, it sounds like the first half of a Yogi Berra-ism, but I can't think of the second half: "Nobody's buying;...." CC, JSM
"But in the past few years, “choiceful” arose in tandem with a new dynamic, Ms. Kodali said: As corporations fighting to maintain their pricing power charged more for their products, consumers started buying fewer overall units. In other words, shoppers were often spending the same — or more — while purchasing less stuff. This has not been the end of the world for retailers (many have seen profits rise even as total unit sales decline), but it does prompt a need to explain."
If you live where Amazon does same day, or even overnight delivery, it's hard to imagine why these box stores still exist, because it pretty much costs you as much to start your car and drive there as the delivery fee.
I go to Walmart 2-3 times a year. I hate it. But I have short lists of items they sell at the best price.
wax paper, windex, coffee filters, eyeglass wipes.
buy and bye - I'm outa there.
Amazon is killin' them
As the Prof said, Target has almost no comparative advantage to Amazon or Costco. As for Macy's, it has been wearing old downtown department stores as skinsuits: Marshall Field's, Dayton-Hudson's, Hecht's, etc. Economy of scale managed to keep the department-store model going a few more years, but the corpse has never been fully reanimated. CC, JSM
"Nobody's buying - the economy's too good"?
"Nobody's buying - they have too much money"?
"Nobody's buying - they got all their stuff somewhere else"?
CC, JSM
Since MN wants to succeed from the union, I have no reason to support any MN company like Target, Beat Buy or General Mills.
Doesn’t mean I am boycotting, because that is not realistic for everything, but there are some easy choices to make.
I go to these places a lot, especially Walmart. I think a lot of people avoid these stores because of the clientele - bad manners, and often criminal. I go because I have low standards, and a CCW.
“ what we're talking about is being choosy where one of the options is to choose nothing at all. ”
All or Nothing at All — Frank Sinatra
Remember, shopping used to be part entertainment. But now with on-line shopping, you can get the same entertainment online...either by not shopping and watching tiktok, or by shopping at Temu or Shein where you can get your fix and pay tiny amounts for products.
Note this is in addition to the people who don't like shopping and who use online to avoid the hassle.
But it's important to think about the first group, as they would probably have spent a lot of time in stores before mobile shopping on your phone.
Pro-Choiceful. Sounds ominous. A handmade tale.
I wonder if there is an additional ozempic effect.
You get thinner. You may need new clothes...but also, you look better so maybe your old clothes are fine. And you don't need to relentlessly look for off-setting clothes.
Supposedly Ozempic also lowers other "addictive" behavior so online shopping might also decline.
I'm hoping that the word "ingenious" will return. Apple's service desk aka "Genius Bar" resulted in the improper use of genius, and pushed ingenious away.
I'm still hoping that the words "immigration" and "emigration" return too, as they were dumped for dumbed-down "in-migration" and "out-migration."
Still, none of this is going to happen. Trendy business executives love to create insider jargon to realize proactively leveraged synergies.
“The economy seems to be growing nonetheless.“
For one thing, a lot more “buy now, pay later” options out there, in unexpected shops, both online and in person.
Supposedly Ozempic also lowers other "addictive" behavior so online shopping might also decline
…Interesting. I’m listening…
I guess people are "choiceful" because they don't have enough money. Probably because of massive inflation, competition with cheap foriegn labor, and business monopolies squeezing every last nickel out of their costomers.
For example, the beef section in my local Grocery has almost disappeared. You can get expensive rib-eye steaks or hamburger, but little else.
Yeah "Choiceful" is a terrible word. When you have to explain what a new word means, that's a bad sign.
I go because I have low standards, and a CCW.
…of all the rational fears of having to pull all are compounded by the thought of doing it in a Wal Mart
Welcome to McDonalds' may I take your order:
Yes, I'll have a Big McChoice, with Choice Fries and a Large Diet-Choice.
Thank you, sir, that will be $0.00.
Google CEO Translator to the rescue:
'consumers have been choiceful in their buying decisions.'
Google CEO-T:
These fucking idiots ain't buying our Chinese crap no more.
Southerners, especially Southern ladies, know that euphemisms are the staff of life, when it comes to communicating about unpleasantries. It makes for a much more polite society, for higher thinking, when one can step over the awkward subjects, and yet still accurately capture them.
Now, Target: Where is that company based, again? Maybe the whole country is just casting their preferences.
“I go because I have low standards, and a CCW.”
I go because it makes me feel smart, prosperous, and handsome. Snark aside, it’s convenient and a great place to do some amateur sociology. Which can be depressing, but there’s nothing quite like seeing for yourself.
I dumped my Target stock sometime during the second Obama administration. Again, go and see. In the West Olympia store the decline was palpable, quality plummeting, and the clientele clearly narrowing. Hipster Wal-Mart is strange market niche to aim for, especially as Amazon was locking in it’s ubiquity.
Theyve looted your stores like spanish galleons wake up
“Thank you, sir, that will be $0.00.“
"When we called out for another drink, the waiter brought a tray,"
I thought there was a reason why you couldn’t put lotto on credit.
I see your "frugal" and raise you "parsimonious."
Better than either would be just "picky." But apparently "picky" and "choosy" won't bring in the big bucks as well as "choiceful."
This post maybe tied to the Greenland grab. These good times are not going to last forever. Maybe what may save us is people sensing that unchanging immutable truth, that whatever goes up must inevitably come down.
What's the opposite of "impulsive". For a long time, the American economy has either suffered from or benefitted from (depending on your point-of-view) consumers impulsively buying what they're seeing on the teevee. "I don't know, I just like the taste of Coors Light because, you know, Colorado is so pretty with the mountains and the water rushing by and the sky, you know, blue but not just regular blue."
I find that billionaires and they're willing accomplices in the press calling ordinary people consumers is insulting revolting vile despicable yada yada yada.
Mr. Gomez appears to mispronounce “avoiding Target.”
Actually, "choiceful" is a very good word, and it's not the same as "choosy" or "picky" or "frugal". The situation now is that I've got a lot of choices and I've got a lot more reasons than I ever had or ever needed before.
Perhaps we could resuscitate the term "discriminating"?
"White Frugality"--the next PC bestseller?
I have only been in a Walmart two or three times, and always when I was far from my neighborhood and needed something right away.
The Target store is only 1.5 miles away, and handy for some things. I get all my shorts and sleepshorts there lately, and their candy aisle often has good deals.
I wish people's usage of "begs the question" was correct.
But it seems that horse has left the barn, so it does no good to despond.
Frugal is not a fruit, despite what that RFK Jr food pyramid scheme tells you ;-)
"Choiceful" is just a coded word for "gender affirming care". Don't be fooled people.
I always prefer buying things like that on Amazon.
[Subtly reminds commenters about the Althouse Amazon link]
gilbar said...
“Serious Question:
please post, if you've been to a Target store in the last year?
i've been to Walmart 3 times in the last 6 months; i literally can't remember the last time i went to a Target.
i don't think it's been in the last ten years.”
I haven’t stepped into a Target in close to ten years. The merchandise quality was poor, the décor and lighting left something to be desired, and their trans-friendly BS clinched it.
I’ve been a couple times. The one near my house what was once clean and efficient and stocked is now a Mandami wet dream disaster- empty shelves, dirty, messy, closed checkout lanes. The one I went to in Lake Tahoe over the summer was nice- clean and packed with tourists mid day mid week. A security patrol roaming the parking lot to catch tourists trying to park and head to the lake…
Read through this while making a trip to Walmart. Wife needed lens cleaner and we needed some sunscreen for an upcoming trip. Otherwise, what Althouse posted in comments is an accurate description for us. Most brick and mortar shopping is grocery stores, because we buy along the edges, and I do t trust their curbside shoppers to pick things like I would. Amazon covers most goods and would have been fine for the things we bought today. However, the Walmart was across th3 street from lunch, so it worked.
That said, there was a Target in the same shopping center as lunch. We never once thought of going in it. It is actually much cleaner and nicer. But it is hard to find anything in it. It costs more. You can’t self checkout and the open register is in the middle of the store while the doors are on the side. And yeah, their desire to be political doesn’t help at all.
MN agitators choicefully took over a Target in St Paul today demanding the store block federal law enforcement from using the bathroom and shop.
Targets choiceful decision on how to handle this will inform mine.
Sparing, frugal, parsimonious. Is there a word that better conveys a heightened expectation of value per amount spent?
I'm with planetgo on this one:
Actually, "choiceful" is a very good word, and it's not the same as "choosy" or "picky" or "frugal". The situation now is that I've got a lot of choices
The suffix -ful means full of or having a lot of: in this case, having a lot of choices. This is obviously a big problem for Target. Consumers have so many choices that many prefer to just buy from Amazon (as our host says).
It kind of means choosy because customers have more choices to choose from, but choosy implies a change in customers themselves, that they are fussier in their choices. Choiceful is simply having more choices.
Choiceful doesn't imply frugality at all, though, because more frugal requires a reduced willingness so spend money.
"Choiceful" sounds like people trying to sound more intelligent than they are, after all that expensive elite education.
Amazon Prime is not just a planet in a movie.
These fucking CEO's need to get it through their fucking skulls:
Nobody is going to pay $18 for a fucking Big Mac happy Meal.
@FormerLawClerk: Nobody is going to pay $18 for a fucking Big Mac happy Meal.
Ahhh. Bidenflation got us close to that. Back in 2001, Carl's Jr. (aka Hardee's) introduced a "Six-dollar burger" for $3.95.
Now, a Carl's Jr. burger runs $5.50 to $16.50.
True inflation is cutting those "great" 10% to 30% stock market returns in half.
I'm still gobsmacked by the word subsidization since the noun form of subsidize is subsidy.
I want to get some Goode Foods canned vegetables (They're cleaner that Del Monte and the rest) as well as some Dukes Mayo. The only retailer I can find them in is Target. Maybe I'll get there by the end of the year.
"Serious Question:
please post, if you've been to a Target store in the last year?"
I don't really care for Target but I went there a few months ago to get a new router. Their price was better than anything I could find online and I drive past the place regularly so it's not like it was going out of the way to stop in.
And how did it go? Good Lord! Above, rehajm said "Empty shelves, dirty, messy, closed checkout lanes." No shit! It looked like the store had been ravaged by a pack of progressives, unhappy over the lack of clothing options available for perverts and the transgender. Or something.
I don't plan to be going back anytime soon.
The consumer is gay, but not gregarious.
Perfect timing. Coincidence?
https://www.foxnews.com/us/anti-ice-agitators-occupy-minnesota-target-store-demand-retailer-stop-helping-federal-agents
Jargon is for losers. I still grit my teeth whenever I hear someone worried about "the optics" instead of saying that they are worried they'll look bad.
There's a wide range in store quality, even within a brand. Until recently, I lived roughly equidistantly between two Walmarts. On one side of town, bordering a mid-sized city, the Walmart was dirty, lots of goods behind security barriers of one sort or another, and was mentioned frequently in the local police blotter. On the other side of town, just over the border in a nice suburb, the Walmart was clean, fully stocked, and generally a pleasure to visit.
Target used to be a go-to place for somewhat better quality goods, but their quality has crashed. Meanwhile, at least near me, Kohls has quietly been doing a good job. I now buy most of my chinos and casual-wear there.
The bigger question to me: is there any consumer good that seems better than it was ten years ago? I'm really curious about what people are seeing in the marketplace. I think a case can be made for computer hardware, but I struggle to think of anything else.
“Choiceful Mothers are Pro-Choice for Gif”
Doesn’t have the same ring to it.
" is there any consumer good that seems better than it was ten years ago? "
Cameras. By a fair bit. Autofocus performance, low light performance, dynamic range, large aperture lenses.
TV's, though mainly because they are cheaper.
Cell phones, mainly in better integrated cameras.
Satellite ISP's, hugely.
Speaking of "choiceful". Those with the most choices are choosing to move away from the insane thieves of warm collectivism.
"California Billionaires: 'Get Me the Hell Out of Here' "
https://hotair.com/john-s-2/2026/01/19/california-billionaires-get-me-the-hell-out-of-here-n3811006
Granted the best US shopping option for camera equipment is online. For new B&H/Amazon, for used Keh, for collectible ebay.
Downtown (SoMa) Target in San Francisco. Was just there October. Seems no worse run than in 2019, other than most of the personal care stuff is still behind plastic. Drugs toothpaste soap shaving etc.
I think 'choiceful' may be impactful when it comes time to choose the word of the year.
Or I may just be shitful.
"California Billionaires: 'Get Me the Hell Out of Here' "
You know what would be funny? If the "Billionaire Tax" never materializes and still, those billionaires have already left for someplace more sane, with the state losing all the tax dollars they used to get from them.
They funded their destructor
From someone who listens to a lot of corporate earnings investor calls: (1) I'd just note that "choosy" has maybe negative connotations, and the last thing retailer management wants to do is insult their customers. They are, in general, very, very careful about how they choose their words in this regard. (2) Yes, frugal and spending less has something to do with it, but I think there is more information here: I think the retail people, managers, consultants, analysts and such, are also aware that some products continue to sell fairly well. Therefore, "choiceful" is a sugar-coated word that also indicates that the frugality is not evenly distributed across all products -- or all retailers.
Somebody is obviously paying $18 for "a Big Mac Happy Meal" (which I don't think exists) or whatever MacDonalds is selling. Or they wouldn't price them that way.
Beef is currently very expensive. I don't think that's Trump's fault, but whatever.
Groceries in general--not really. Obviously a lot more expensive than they were 5 years ago, but not a whole lot more than 1 year ago.
I despise shopping, but my experience (and more importantly that of my wife, who seems to enjoy shopping--or used to) is that whatever it is that you are looking for is not in stock, but you can order it and it will come in 3 to 8 weeks. Maybe. And there is nobody at the store who knows anything anyway.
Which you can do on Amazon with free, very fast shipping and free no questions returns.
And Walmart is trying to do the same as Amazon regarding online retailing.
I agree that inflation is (or was) cutting great corporate returns significantly. But half of 10 to 30 percent is 5 to 15 percent real return, which is not bad.
And the reason those stocks are booming is because all of the inflation-causing money which has been pumped into the economy by our government ultimately goes to the companies whose stocks are booming. Which increases the value of the stocks held mostly by us old folks.
It is a shitty deal for the younger generation. When will they figure out that the politicians promising them "free stuff" from the government are screwing them out of their future?
Probably never. Alas.
Biff is absolutely correct about the variability of Walmarts--and of other large retailers. In affluent locales, the stores are simply a lot better and are well-stocked. On the other side of the tracks, not so much.
I would also note that I have been to Walmarts in very rural areas where they are really the only major retail option (SE Arizona and New Mexico)--and have found, in general, that they are very good.
Time to watch the game.
In the West Olympia store the decline was palpable, quality plummeting, and the clientele clearly narrowing.
Used to frequent that store often back in the late '90s and early Aughts. Haven't set foot in there since they started allowing men in women's restrooms.
And never will again.
the inflation-causing money which has been pumped into the economy by our government ultimately goes to the companies whose stocks are booming
Yet the Dow Jones lost ground in the high-inflation 70s, massively when you take inflation into account. I guess some stocks did well. Where did all the money go, Saudi Arabia?
As far as store appearances, I suspect a lot of it has to do with the customer base.
fvc: "I'd just note that "choosy" has maybe negative connotations"
Didn't used to. Choosy mothers choose Jif!
https://youtu.be/6LOT78zhA5w?si=k8vkDkkgg-iQ2D8l
CC, JSM
I had some Brits as guests once, first time in the USA. At the time we were working together in a 3rd world country (sh*thole) Took them to a Super-Walmart. The wife spent over 4 hours, up every aisle, looking at every item, gobsmacked. Absolutely gobsmacked. She went back a couple of more times during their stay to load up - of course, considering where our assignment was, there was good reason to.
I've never heard "choiceful" before, frugal works, maybe better than "picky". It's still s word choice to get away from the idea that people are not buying stuff.
Ralph--I'm not saying that inflation is good. I was responding to the point made above that true inflation is making returns less than they appear to be. 1/2 of 30% is still very good. In the 70's, inflation (10-14%) pretty much wiped out everything, including the returns that older, wealthier people could get on their stock holdings.
I go to the local Target once or twice a week, as it's close (10 minutes). A Walmart is a bit further, not as nice, but still go there for some things. Partly I use Target because they have a CVS pharmacy that is very, very good. Tonight I'm going there to get a couple computer/phone cables. Mostly I use Amazon for stuff I can't really get in brick-and-mortar.
Plus it gets me out of the house. I like going out and mingling amongst the populace.
కామెంట్ను పోస్ట్ చేయండి
Please use the comments forum to respond to the post. Don't fight with each other. Be substantive... or interesting... or funny. Comments should go up immediately... unless you're commenting on a post older than 2 days. Then you have to wait for us to moderate you through. It's also possible to get shunted into spam by the machine. We try to keep an eye on that and release the miscaught good stuff. We do delete some comments, but not for viewpoint... for bad faith.