Walmart CEO says clients need to get out and store.

People walk past a Walmart store on August 23, 2020 in North Bergen, New Jersey.

Kena Betancur | VIEW press | Corbis News | Getty Images

Doug McMillon, CEO of Walmart, said Tuesday that his customers “want to get out and shop”. The company believes the buying frenzy will continue as U.S. consumers return to the world and spend money tucked away during the coronavirus pandemic.

Shop traffic increased in April – the first increase in a year. When customers bought, they also tended to buy more. The average ticket increased 9.5% in the first quarter, although total transactions were down about 3%.

CFO Brett Biggs said the purchases had started to reflect the reopening economy. He said personal care, party and travel-related items increased and contributed to the company’s strong first quarter results. Some goods like teeth whiteners and new clothes are back on the shopping list.

“You can see that customers are definitely getting back out and spending money,” he said on the company’s call for profits. “Spending rates are good. Income rates are good. Savings rates are actually still near all-time highs, which would lead you to believe that there will be pent-up demand when we get into the latter half of the year.” Year.”

Walmart’s first quarter earnings exceeded Wall Street’s expectations as it gained food market share and US e-commerce sales grew 37%. Due to consumer spending patterns, the outlook for the second quarter and fiscal year has also been raised.

Biggs said it was difficult to filter out the impact of stimulus checks that contributed to first-quarter sales. He said it was also difficult to predict the second half of the year as Covid-19 cases remained high in some Walmart markets like India.

However, Biggs said he was more optimistic about the months ahead as he saw what was happening across the country.

McMillon said the retailer has started envisioning the back-to-school season. There is also thought about how families can celebrate holidays like Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas – traditions and gatherings that were largely disrupted by the pandemic a year ago.

“We are very excited about the potential,” he said.