WSJ: Spending on Dining Hasn't Surpassed Spending on Groceries
SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Wall Street Journal] Jo Craven McGinty - May 15, 2015 -
Retail-sales figures released by the U.S. Commerce Department garnered considerable attention last month when news reports suggested they showed Americans spent more money dining out than buying groceries for the first time ever.
So what was wrong with using the Commerce figures to project a major dining trend? Lots of things.
Perhaps the biggest is that the figures primarily represent sales at supermarkets and don't include big-box stores such as Wal-Mart, the largest grocery retailer in the nation, where many Americans stock up on provisions for their cupboards and refrigerators.
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