Target, meanwhile, is rethinking the products it offers consumers as it seeks to reclaim its “Tarjay” moniker for high-end style and affordable prices. Target increased its number of toys under $10 by 9% and added more $1 price points, while also adding 1,500 new health and wellness items, premium baby brands, and pricey Pokémon cards.

“We made investments in assortment, really thinking through expanding both low, low price points, starting at $1, all the way up to some of the new premium brands,” said Cara Sylvester, who became Target’s Chief Merchandising Officer in mid-February.

Sylvester said that Target’s toy sales grew by double digits after it added new store experiences and “clear price points at $3, $5, $1.”

Home improvement retailers Lowe’s and Home Depot noted that higher mortgage rates and a tough housing market are affecting what their customers are purchasing.

“There’s no question that the average consumer is feeling pressure from rising fuel costs,” Home Depot CFO Richard McPhail told Yahoo Finance  “Our customer tends to have higher incomes and higher housing wealth, but they do tell us that they’re feeling the impact of fuel costs.”

McPhail said that smaller projects like painting and patio construction continue to be “a real source of strength,” while “customers continue to defer those larger projects as a result of the concerns they feel over economic uncertainty and general affordability.”

Lowe’s CEO expressed that although its core consumers, who are homeowners, remain healthy, they are “uncertain because of the current mortgage rate environment.” Lowe’s also saw a pullback on big purchases.

The concern now is whether all consumers, including aspirational middle-income consumers who support spending, eventually pull back as fuel costs remain high, according to Keith Gangl, a senior portfolio manager at Gradient Investments.

“If oil prices stay above that $90 in the next, say, three, four months … that is an area of concern,” Gangl said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re low-end or high-end. Those fuel prices touch you. … [The cost of] transportation oil is actually in everything that you touch and feel.”

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Brooke DiPalma is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X at @BrookeDiPalma or email her at bdipalma@yahoofinance.com.

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