All right, we are going to do the consumer economy in six little letters.

From American public media, this is Marketplace.

In Los Angeles, I'm Colin Rizzell. It is Wednesday, today the 20th of August. It is always to have you along, everybody.

Our journey into the consumer underbelly of this economy today is best told by a pair of dueling three-letter ticker symbols, TJX and TGT. TJX, the ticker symbol and also the name of

the parent company of discount retailers T.J. Max and marshals and home goods reported today that

same store sales rose 4% in the quarter gone by and the company raised its earnings outlook

for the remainder of the year.

Not a whole lot of companies doing that, by the way.

TGT Target told investors this morning, same store sales declined about 2% year-over-year,

and perhaps causal reason that the Minneapolis-based retailer also announced a new CEO.

And in those diverging corporate fortunes, as Marketplace's Matt Levin reports,

do lie some clues about the state of the American consumer right now. Last week, Joanne Feeney was on

the hunt for a stockpot. She's a portfolio manager at Advisors Capital. After striking out at a

kitchen supply store, she headed to T.J. Max and found a pretty nice

European brand with good online reviews. The price was extremely attractive. I think I got this

very large stock pot for somewhere around $30. Like I had, you know, won the lottery a little bit.

Feeney says that I won the lotto feeling is crucial for T.J. Max. A slowing labor market and

sticky inflation mean both higher and lower income consumers are already in value hunting mode.

Add that dose of dopamine you get after sifting through rows and rows of merch before finding

your discount diamond in the rough. And T.J. Max is gaining market share.

So that bargain hunting, treasure hunting aspect has continued to draw on a consumer

who's been faced with a tighter and tighter budget over time because of these higher prices.

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