Pizza Goeth Before A Fall?
While economists, politicians and pundits sift daily through a mountain of data—from unemployment rates to gross domestic product, inflation to bank lending rates—one overlooked economic indicator points unambiguously to a deep and imminent economic downturn:
Pizza.
In its February 24th earnings call with the financial press, Domino’s Pizza CEO Russell Weiner reported a 3.2 percent spike in carryout orders during the previous quarter, combined with a 1.4 percent decrease in deliveries.
Weiner attributed this change in consumer behavior to “macro and competitive pressures,” or, in layman’s terms, households in the U.S. increasingly can’t afford delivery fees and driver gratuities that can easily add $10 to the price of a pizza.