Target seeing customers pulling back even on groceries – CEO tells CNBC

Shoppers exit a Target store with their purchases in Fairfax, Virginia, in Feb 4, 2010. REUTERS/Stelios Varias/File photo

Target is seeing shoppers trim spending even on groceries as household budgets are stretched due to higher prices and borrowing costs, the U.S. big-box retailer’s CEO Brian Cornell said in an interview aired on CNBC on Thursday.

“But even in food and beverage categories, over the last few quarters, the units, the number of items they’re buying, has been declining,” Cornell told CNBC.

Target had in August adopted a “cautious approach” for the second half after cutting its sales and profit outlooks for the year.

The company, which is expected to report third-quarter results on Nov. 15, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for additional comment.