Where are Americans spending their rebate checks? Apparently Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) and Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST). Both reported fantastic sales for May. Wal-Mart explicitly tied their success to the checks. "We're seeing some benefits from the stimulus checks," Wal-Mart Chief Executive Eduardo Castro-Wright said in a company press release. Wal-Mart same store sales were up 3.9% (4.4% if you include gas).
Costco sales were even better, up 5% from last year (7% if you count gas). Costco saw sales of $5.77 billion, up about $600 million. The theory is that people are turning to Wal-Mart and Costco because we're broke and because we're so freaked out by gas prices, we'd rather just drive to one big store. Nice theory, but Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) is in the same business and saw sales drop 0.7%.
How many of us have spent our rebate checks at Wal-Mart and Costco? About 73% of Costco's stores are in the U.S. (The foreign stores got a big boost from the weak U.S. dollar). So, let's say very roughly 73% of Costco's $600 million sales increase was in the U.S. Or, Costco took in an extra $438 million thanks to the rebate checks. (Yeah, I know, the sales probably would've been up anyway, if only for inflation). At Wal-Mart domestic stores saw a $1.4 billion increase. Assuming we all spent our $600 in one place (just to make the math simpler), that would mean a little over 3 million of us (3,063,333) spent our rebated checks at Wal-Mart and Costco in May.











Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-05-2008 @ 7:48PM
David said...
Bought a American made antique 1953 stove (perfect condition).. The rest I converted to euro. LOL
6-05-2008 @ 10:43PM
Lisa said...
I am trying to "Buy American" with my rebate. I haven't gotten the actual check yet but I'll use it to pay the credit card bill. I've gotten masonry work done on my house and bought landscaping plants that were grown here in Texas. With Wal-Mart, Costco and other retailers, you might be buying Chinese-made products. Even with buying food, try to buy locally grown and made products with your rebate checks!
6-13-2008 @ 12:04PM
sharon said...
I want to know when my rebate check will be mailed out .my last two digits is 57