NEW YORK—Amazon Inc.’s strong quarterly performance on Thursday offered another sign of a split in shopping patterns between more- and less-affluent Americans dealing with the highest inflation in four decades.
On Monday, rival Walmart Inc., which caters to a more cost-conscious customer, slashed its second-quarter profit forecast, blaming a shift in consumer spending towards more low-margin food products over apparel and other general merchandise.
This has led to an inventory buildup that the nation’s largest retailer said it would markdown aggressively.
By contrast, Amazon, the world’s largest e-commerce retailer, said consumer demand had ramped up in spite of inflation, helping it post better-than-expected second-quarter income and sales and issue an upbeat forecast for the summer season….