Ralph Lauren, Michael Kors Buck Consumer-Spending Woes

Two other retailers, sneaker brand

Allbirds Inc.

BIRD -19.22%

and mall chain

Signet Jewelers Ltd.

SIG -11.70%

, warned that high inflation was pinching U.S. consumers. Shares of Allbirds fell more than 20%, and Signet dropped 13%, Tuesday after the two companies lowered financial targets for the year.

Ralph Lauren Chief Executive

Patrice Louvet

said the brand isn’t immune to the broader macro headwinds buffeting other retailers, but it has been successful at attracting younger shoppers, who are willing to pay full price for its goods.

The company called out a disparity between customers who continue to spend at its full-priced stores and those who frequent its outlet stores, saying it has become more cautious on value-oriented outlet shoppers. “This speaks to the inflationary headwinds and weaker consumer sentiment out there,”

Jane Nielsen,

Ralph Lauren’s finance chief, said on a conference call.

Capri CEO

John Idol

said there is uncertainty surrounding consumer spending, but that the luxury end of the market remains healthy. “We think that is going to continue for the foreseeable future,” he said.

Other luxury brands have recorded robust sales this year, while department stores and discounters that cater to wider households have stumbled as inflation eats away at budgets and people shift their spending away from apparel. Both Ralph Lauren and Capri had a surge in inventory levels in the latest quarter as they moved to import goods ahead of the holidays.

Allbirds lowered its revenue and profit forecasts for the year. The company, which gets most of its sales online, said it expected pressure on U.S. shoppers to continue into the second half of the year. Allbirds said it was reducing its corporate workforce by about 8%, or about two dozen jobs, and slowing its hiring.

Signet, which operates more than 2,800 stores under the Zales, Kay and other banners, lowered its forecasts for the fiscal second quarter and full year. The company also said it was buying e-commerce jeweler Blue Nile Inc. for about $360 million to expand its online operations.

“We saw sales soften in July as our customers have been increasingly impacted by rapid inflation,” Signet CEO

Virginia C. Drosos

said. Signet said it now expects revenue for the year ended in January of $7.6 billion to $7.7 billion, down from a prior range of $8.03 billion to $8.25 billion.

Inflation has been running near record levels and the U.S. government will provide its latest update on Wednesday. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expect annual inflation cooled to 8.7% in July from 9.1% in June.

One market research firm, Adobe Analytics, estimated that online prices eased slightly in July, amid falling prices for electronics, toys and apparel. Adobe estimated that after 25 months of inflation, overall online prices fell 1% in July compared with July 2021 and 2% compared with June. The estimate doesn’t include spending in stores or at restaurants or purchases of gas.

“Wavering consumer confidence and a pullback in spending, coupled with oversupply for some retailers, is driving prices down in major online categories like electronics and apparel,” said Patrick Brown, Adobe’s vice president of growth marketing and insights.

Write to Suzanne Kapner at [email protected]