In what could be a good indicator for JB Hi Fi and CE retailers in Australia, Best Buy has managed to hold sales as consumers who despite rampant inflation and rising interest rates have continued to spend on appliances and CE goods, the Company was predicting a bigger fall than 3%.
Best Buy claim that they are punting that a long sales slump in consumer electronics and household appliances will start to ease later this year, which is the same sentiment Australian retailers are predicting.
The retailers first-quarter profit exceeded estimates and it stood by its annual financial forecasts, reiterating that comparable sales will fall by no more than 6% this year.
That implies shallower declines in the second half of the year after a 10% plunge in the first quarter and a second-quarter drop of as much as 8%.
“We continue to believe that calendar 2023 will be the bottom for the decline in tech demand,” Chief Executive Officer Corie Barry said on a conference call with analysts and investors.
“Customers are clearly feeling cautious and making trade-off decisions.”
Bloomberg reports that Best Buy’s steady outlook signals a ray of hope, however faint, after sales tumbled last year as consumers retreated from electronics and other discretionary goods.
That followed a binge during the early stages of the pandemic.
Best Buy rose 1.8% at 9:46 a.m. in New York.
The stock had slid 14% this year.