Dollar General CEO Todd Vasos said at a Goldman Sachs conference that even consumers earning $100,000 a year no longer feel high-income due to inflation and rising gas prices, now averaging $4.476 per gallon nationally. U.S. retail sales rose 1.2% in August, including 1.1% excluding gasoline, demonstrating household resilience despite purchasing power erosion. According to a Harris Poll survey, 64% of six-figure earners now view $100,000 as the bare minimum for survival rather than a financial success milestone. Inflation and soaring energy costs are pushing consumers, including middle-class households, to adopt shopping behaviors typically associated with lower-income brackets.
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