It's a tale of two consumers this holiday season — and they're both at Walmart

Retiree Eileen Gowlak, 86, used to buy her clothes from Walmart when the retailer would have a big sale.

Retiree Eileen Gowlak, 86, used to buy her clothes from Walmart when the retailer would have a big sale. But those days are over.

“I noticed the clothing went up, and they don’t have the sales they used to have,” Gowlak said outside a store in North Bergen, New Jersey, in November.

Priced out of Walmart, Gowlak simply isn’t buying new clothes right now. She is prioritizing groceries, and she’s not alone.

“You’re seeing more consumer dollars go to necessities versus discretionary items,” John David Rainey, chief financial officer of Walmart U.S., said on a call with analysts last month.

For millions of Walmart’s core customers, who tend to be lower- or middle-income and live in rural or suburban areas, wage growth is slowing, spending has fallen, and inflation and tariffs are making everyday purchases feel too expensive.