Retailers are saying shoppers are 'pressured,' 'stretched,' and 'cautious' — but still spending

• Execs for Walmart, Target, and more retailers have used similar descriptions of US consumer health.
• BI combed through earnings call transcripts to round up the words they're using to talk about shoppers.
• In spite of the challenges, Americans continue to spend — even if it's at the last minute.

Pressured. Cautious. Stretched.

If those words describe how you're feeling amid holiday spending, you're far from alone.

Money is tight for many Americans these days, and executives for Walmart, Target, Dollar General, Dollar Tree, and more have all used similar language to describe the state of US consumer health this holiday season.

"I want to be sensitive to those that have lower income levels and acknowledge that this inflationary cycle has been really detrimental and created a lot of pressure for them and their families," Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said Tuesday at the Morgan Stanley Global Consumer & Retail Conference.

"People at the other end of the continuum," he added, "they may be cherry-picking categories depending on what they're looking for."

Like McMillon, Target CEO Brian Cornell called out the toll high prices are taking on American households during his quarterly earnings call in November.

"Consumers tell us their budgets remain stretched, and they're shopping carefully, as they work to overcome the cumulative impact of multiple years of price inflation," he said.

"They're becoming increasingly resourceful in their shopping behaviors, waiting to buy until the last moment of need, focusing on deals and then stocking up when they find them," Cornell added.

Dollar Tree interim CEO Michael Creedon said low, middle, and high-income shoppers were all showing signs of some degree of budget pressure.

"They started eating more at home and cutting going out. Now they're reducing some parties," he said during the company's quarterly earnings call Wednesday.

And on Thursday, Dollar General's CEO painted a very similar picture as the discount store gains share among middle- and upper-income households.

"The consumer is seeking value, trying to make ends meet," he said.

Of course, retailers have been using words like pressured, stretched, and cautious to talk about their customers for several years now.

The terms are mentioned near the word "consumer" dozens of times in transcripts from major retailers this year alone, according to AlphaSense data.

And yet, in spite of the persistent challenges, shoppers continue to spend strong.

"We see a consumer who is seeking value in sales events and one who is also willing to spend on high priced point products when they need to, or when there is new compelling technology," Best Buy CEO Corie Barry said during a third-quarter earnings call.

Nowhere is that more apparent than this year's holiday sales season, which is off to a roaring start that could compensate for the five fewer selling days between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

While retailers may have to compete a little harder to win sales this year than before, and investors may have to accept somewhat narrower profits, US shoppers are playing through the pain — even if that means more deal-hunting, last-minute shopping trips, or buy-now-pay-later plans.