2023 Retail Outlook: Slower First Half but Consumers Will be Ready to Buy
Thanks to the slowing economy, flooring retailers will continue seeing less traffic in stores during the first half of 2023, but the people who do show up will be ready to buy, according to Jeff Lorberbaum, Mohawk chairman and CEO, who kicked off Mohawk Edge Summit in Nashville, Tennessee, this week.
"Actions have impacted the housing market in our industry much more than the rest of the entire economy," he said. "Higher interest rates have reduced existing home sales. Builders are constructing fewer houses. Homes that were already under construction aren't selling space. This is on top of the consumer having to put up with high inflation that increased the cost of their energy, their food, their healthcare and all the other goods and the services they're purchasing."