1515 ET - After a few years of pushing up prices, apparel retailers may be hitting a limit, William Blair analysts say in a note. While the underlying drivers of U.S. consumer resilience remain intact, including wage growth and employment, the Iran conflict has added another factor to fuel inflation alongside lingering tariff pressures, the analysts say. As a result, companies may start offering more discounts to counter waning demand as they try to offset rising input costs, they say. Some retailers--like Abercrombie, Torrid, Revolve and Boot Barn--had higher promotional activity in March, they say. "Perhaps as a result of this activity and coming off greater weather disruption to begin the year, traffic and broader demand trends have held up across our coverage," they say. (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 02, 2026 15:15 ET (19:15 GMT)

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