Americans are behaving like they're in a recession, Whirlpool warns [View all]

Appliance demand has deteriorated significantly, according to Whirlpool, which is now warning that trends look worse now than during some recessionary times of the past.

Specifically, customers seem to be cutting back on discretionary purchases of appliances. Whirlpool which makes goods like refrigerators and washing machines, noted Thursday that industry data showed a 7.4% drop in appliance demand during the first quarter.

”This level of industry decline is similar to what we have observed during the global financial crisis, and even higher than during other recessionary periods,” CEO Marc Bitzer said on the earnings call, according to a FactSet transcript.

Whirlpool shares were down more than 12% in morning trading on Thursday.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/americans-are-behaving-like-they-re-in-a-recession-whirlpool-warns/ar-AA22BnZH

When the basics are more expensive you're less likely to buy other things.