All inflation is local

Summary

Marketplace Podcast Summary: "All Inflation is Local"

Host: Amy Scott
Episode Air Date: November 13th

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Introduction to Inflation Trends

In this episode of Marketplace, Amy Scott delves into the persistent issue of inflation in the United States, highlighting how it remains "pretty much as expected, stuck." The Labor Department reported that consumer prices rose by 2.6% in October compared to the same time the previous year, with a monthly increase of 0.2% for the fourth consecutive month (00:38). Despite these figures appearing moderate, the stagnation is primarily attributed to the shelter costs, which saw a significant uptick.

Housing and Regional Inflation Differences

Housing emerges as a critical factor driving inflation, with variations observed across different regions. Michael Puglisi, a senior economist at Wells Fargo, explains that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) often reflects older lease agreements, masking the current slowdown in rent inflation (02:05). Darrell Fairweather of Redfin corroborates this by noting, “In Southern states, including North Carolina and Tennessee, rents have eased up a lot” (02:48).

Elizabeth Troval adds that new constructions are expected to increase rental supply next year, potentially further slowing rent inflation. However, elevated interest rates pose a challenge by slowing down new construction projects, posing a risk to sustained progress in controlling inflation (03:30).

Consumer Debt and Household Financial Health

Shifting focus to household finances, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported a slight increase in household debt, reaching nearly $18 trillion in the third quarter. However, this rise is offset by personal disposable income growth, indicating that many households are better positioned to manage their debts (03:47).

Benedict Gutman Kenney from Rice University emphasizes, “It's all about how much more debt someone has taken on relative to their ability to repay it” (04:40). While national debt remains a concern, especially with the U.S. government debt standing around $36 trillion, the aggregate picture for household debt appears stable. Nevertheless, Jesse Mecham from YNAB points out that "delinquency rates are still a problem, meaning debt is a stress for plenty of American households" (05:55).

Impact of Hurricane on Small Business

Amy Scott introduces a poignant story of resilience through Jessie Dean, owner of Asheville Tea Company, who shares her experiences following Hurricane Helene (06:40). Jessie recounts, “When Helene hit, we lost all contact... the water had risen 27 feet and had completely swallowed our building whole” (07:02). The loss amounted to nearly $500,000 in equipment and inventory. Despite this devastation, Jessie highlights the community's support and the steps taken to rebuild, including securing a bridge loan from Mountain Bizworks to restart production (09:17).

Global Climate Finance Negotiations

The episode also touches on the global stage, discussing the COP 29 climate talks underway in Azerbaijan. The central debate revolves around the financial commitments of wealthier nations to support developing countries in transitioning to cleaner energy and adapting to climate change (12:05). Kenneth Gillingham from Yale points out the historical responsibility of industrialized nations, stating, “The United States, the United Kingdom, most of Europe bear more blame” (12:44). The challenge lies in updating the outdated classifications from the 1990s, where countries like China were still considered developing (13:22). Rishikesh Ram Bhandari from Boston University notes, “How do you get the politics and the legality in one place so that we can have a deal that really works for everybody?” (13:58).

AI in Holiday Shopping

Transitioning to consumer behavior, Marketplace explores the rising trend of AI-assisted online shopping during the holiday season. Adobe predicts that online shopping will increase by nearly 8.5%, surpassing $240 billion. Tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and retailers' conversational chatbots are becoming integral to the shopping experience (22:58). Victoria Winter, an entrepreneur, shares her reliance on ChatGPT for tasks ranging from creating bedtime routines to brainstorming gift ideas (23:08).

Retail analysts like Sucharita Kadali from Forrester view these AI tools as "more of a bonus than a necessity," primarily aiding in defining brand recommendations and price comparisons (23:25). Jesse Mecham observes a significant uptick in traffic from generative AI sources to retail sites, although Brad Jaczinski from Gartner remains cautious, likening the current AI tools to the early days of Alexa, which saw limited use beyond basic tasks like checking the weather (24:29).

Consumer Sentiment Data

In the final segment, Amy Scott references a report from Morning Consult indicating a shift in consumer sentiment along political lines. For the first time in four years, Republicans are feeling good about the economy, while Democrats are less optimistic (27:00). This dichotomy highlights the nuanced perspectives within different political groups regarding the current economic climate.

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Notable Quotes

• Michael Puglisi (02:05): "The thing about the CPI report and the way it tallies up shelter costs is that it tends to reflect leases that were signed a while ago."

• Darrell Fairweather (02:48): "Makes sense that that would then over time kind of be reflected in you're not going to sustain these 10% or even higher rent numbers that you were seeing a couple years ago."

• Jessie Dean (07:02): "When Helene hit, we lost all contact... the water had risen 27 feet and had completely swallowed our building whole."

• Jesse Mecham (04:45): "It's all about how much more debt has someone taken on relative to their ability to repay it."

• Kenneth Gillingham (12:44): "The United States, the United Kingdom, most of Europe bear more blame."

• Jesse Mecham (24:29): "We're seeing a really significant uptick in traffic coming from generative AI sources to retail sites."

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Conclusion

The "All Inflation is Local" episode of Marketplace provides a comprehensive examination of how inflation, particularly in housing, varies across regions and impacts consumer behavior and economic health. Through expert insights and personal stories, the podcast underscores the intricate relationship between local economic conditions and broader national and global trends. Whether discussing the resilience of small businesses, the complexities of global climate finance, or the evolving landscape of AI-assisted shopping, Marketplace delivers a nuanced perspective on the multifaceted nature of inflation in today's economy.

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Listeners can stay informed by tuning into Marketplace for more in-depth analysis and stories that bring economic news to life.

Transcript

[Justin Vineyards]

This Marketplace podcast is supported by Justin Vineyards and Winery. Since 1981, Justin has been producing world class Bordeaux style wines from Paso Robles on California's Central Coast. As the pioneer of Paso, Justin wines are what put Paso Robles on the winemaking map. With a rich history of accolades, Justin produces exceptional wines and is proud to be America's number one luxury Cabernet. Whether you're a first time wine drinker or a wine aficionado, Justin has a wine for every celebration and occasion. Looking for special wine to serve at your holiday table? Visit justinwine.com doors Take us to summers.

[Amy Scott]

Away or winter adventures and afternoon getaways. Your dedicated Fidelity advisor can help you open those doors by working with you on a comprehensive plan to help you reach your wealth's full potential. Because doors were meant to be opened, visit fidelity.com investment minimum supply Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC member NYSE SIPC that last Mile on Inflation? Yeah, we're not there yet. From American Public Media, this is Marketplace in Baltimore. I'm Amy Scott in for Kai rysdal. It's Wednesday, November 13th. Good to have you with us. The latest inflation news is pretty much as expected, stuck. The Labor Department said consumer prices rose 2.6% in October compared to the same time a year ago. The monthly increase was 0.2% for the fourth month in a row. One reason for the stalled progress? The price of shelter, which was up 5% year over year. And while that sounds like a big increase, rent inflation has actually been slowing down. Marketplace's Justin Ho is on the cold comfort beat today.

[Michael Puglisi]

The thing about the CPI report and the way it tallies up shelter costs is that it tends to reflect leases that were signed a while ago. Michael Puglisi, senior economist at Wells Fargo, says other private sector data show that today's rents have slowed down even further.

[Darrell Fairweather]

Look at, say, the Zillow indicators as just an example. Year over year, they're about what they were pre pandemic 3, 4, 5%.

[Michael Puglisi]

Puglisi says the slowdown in rent inflation reflects the cooling in the broader economy. There's less turnover in the labor market than a year ago. Earnings growth has come down and it.

[Darrell Fairweather]

Makes sense that that would then over time kind of be reflected in you're not going to sustain these 10% or even higher rent numbers that you were seeing a couple years ago.

[Michael Puglisi]

Rent growth is still up quite a bit in the Northeast and the Midwest, but in Southern states, including North Carolina and Tennessee, rents have eased up a lot. Darrell Fairweather, chief economist at the Real Estate website Redfin says that's because of new supply coming online, especially of zero.

[Odetta Kushi]

To one bedroom units. So that's bringing down the national rent figure because there are considerable rent cuts going on in some of those southern metros.

[Michael Puglisi]

Fairweather says more rental units are hitting the market next year, which should cause rent inflation to slow further. But new construction projects have been slowing down, thanks in large part to elevated interest rates. Odetta Kushi, deputy chief economist at First American, says if that continues, then after.

[Elizabeth Troval]

This current batch of completed and under.

[Amy Scott]

Construction apartments come to market, there won't be a lot left to deliver, say.

[Michael Puglisi]

In 2026, especially if the Federal Reserve has any reason to keep interest rates higher for longer. I'm Justin Ho for Marketplace Wall street.

[Amy Scott]

Today pretty much flat. We'll have the details when we do the numbers. Our second snapshot of how the American consumer is doing comes from the Federal Reserve bank of New York, which said today household debt ticked up slightly in the third quarter of this year, reaching nearly $18 trillion. At the same time, though, personal disposable income grew, meaning on balance many households are in better shape to manage that debt. Marketplace's Elizabeth Troval has more.

[Elizabeth Troval]

When we think about household debt, Rice University's Benedict Gutman Kenney says it's all.

[Jesse Mecham]

About how much more debt has someone taken on relative to their ability to repay it.

[Elizabeth Troval]

And this report shows that Americans are in a better spot to pay off their debt. That's because income has grown an average of 6.2% annually while debts have increased 4%.

[Jesse Mecham]

We're nowhere near like the debt to income ratios that we saw kind of pre the financial crisis. Debts low on those measures can't say.

[Elizabeth Troval]

The same for the US government though. Our national debt is around 36 trillion for instance. Autif Meehan says he has some concerns about how government debt could lead to higher long term interest rates.

[Jesse Mecham]

Consumers obviously have a lot of debt on their heads and if long term interest rates were to rise, ultimately those interest rates will have to get priced into mortgages, auto loans and so on.

[Elizabeth Troval]

For now, the aggregate picture of household debt in the US Looks pretty good, but that doesn't mean people feel good about their debt, says Jesse Mecham, who founded the budgeting platform YNAB.

[Amy Scott]

There are a lot of 40 year.

[Darrell Fairweather]

Olds that make way more money than they did when they were 30 something.

[Amy Scott]

And they are just as or more.

[Darrell Fairweather]

Stressed about their money and so that's what tells you it's not an income issue, he says.

[Elizabeth Troval]

It's easy to overspend with how much consumers use credit cards.

[Amy Scott]

Everything is stacked to get you to.

[Darrell Fairweather]

Swipe and tap and buy and not think.

[Elizabeth Troval]

Despite the bright spots in the report, delinquency rates are still a problem, meaning debt is a stress for plenty of American households. I'm Elizabeth Troval for Marketplace.

[Amy Scott]

It's been about seven weeks since Hurricane Helene SW through the southeastern United States, and many small businesses along its path are still trying to find their footing in the aftermath. Jessie Dean owns one of those businesses, Asheville Tea Company, a tea producer in Asheville, North Carolina. We called her up to see how she's faring.

[Jessie Dean]

When Hurricane Helene hit, yes, it was just a huge shift for us, as I'm sure anyone can imagine. We have sort of built our business over the last eight years and had moved into our first facility that was our own to manufacture our tea on a street called Thompson street in Asheville, and it's right beside the Swannanoa River. And when Helene hit, we lost all contact. You know, our cell phone service went out, our Internet went out. The storm was coming through and we didn't know what was happening for hours and later found out that the water had risen 27ft and had completely swallowed our building whole.

[Amy Scott]

I'm sure you've been doing some math in the weeks since. What is this going to cost you to replace all that equipment and inventory?

[Jessie Dean]

I mean, we estimate that we lost close to half a million dollars in equipment and inventory, which for us is more or less everything and is a huge hit. And we can, I will say that we've had just an incredible outpouring of support from other tea companies, from local businesses, from our customers, from our farmers and, you know, from so many people. And so we don't need to pay that much out the gate to start to rebuild, which is really phenomenal. But it is, it is going to take funding and it is going to take, you know, a lot of support. And yeah, I think it's going to be an exciting time when we have some tea back and we do anticipate having some tea made by the holidays. But it's also going to be an extremely long road. And I'm sure it's going to be filled with ups and downs as we go because we can kind of only make what we can make. We're going to have to inchworm along for sure.

[Amy Scott]

What about programs aimed at helping small businesses recover? Are you getting any funding or grants or loans through those programs?

[Jessie Dean]

We did receive a loan from a local CDFI called Mountain Bizworks they are phenomenal and have been very helpful really since our business started. But they have been providing some relief funding in the form of a bridge loan. That's hugely helpful. Just to allow us to get some teammate and start to resupply on ingredients and packaging and things like that. It also is a loan. It's something that we're going to have to pay back at some point in addition to the debt we already had on equipment and inventory that was lost.

[Amy Scott]

You said you're hoping to start selling again in time for the holidays. Where are you making your tea?

[Jessie Dean]

Yeah, well, we actually have two co manufacturers that we are going to work with and they are based in different locations outside of North Carolina. And so our tea bags will be made of the same material. They'll look the same and, you know, be the same ingredients. And we're still getting herbs from local farms too. So. Yeah, so that's very exciting. And that's been our focus, really. We've really zeroed in on getting some tea made and then we'll start to kind of rebuild the actual facility.

[Amy Scott]

What's your favorite tea that you make? What would you like to have a cup of right now?

[Jessie Dean]

Oh, I love that question. You know, one that I tend to drink a lot of is called Chamomile Lavender and it was one of the first blends that I had made. And it's obviously chamomile and lavender. And then we blend it with tulsi, which some people call holy basil and anise hyssop, which is in the mint family. But it has a little bit of a licorice y taste. And so it's just one of my personal favorites.

[Amy Scott]

It sounds very calming.

[Jessie Dean]

Yes.

[Amy Scott]

We could all use a cup of tea right about now.

[Jessie Dean]

That's right. I think maybe that's why I'm feeling drawn to that one.

[Amy Scott]

All right. Jesse Dean is owner of Asheville Tea Company. Thank you so much for your time.

[Jessie Dean]

Thank you so much, Amy. I'm really grateful.

[Amy Scott]

Looking more broadly now to the global climate, as we talked about earlier this week, the COP 29 climate talks are underway in Azerbaijan. The central question under negotiation this year is how much should wealthier countries pay to help developing nations transition to cleaner energy and and adapt to the impacts of climate change? Industrialized countries have already been funding these efforts after a previous COP agreement in 2009. What negotiators need to decide now is how much more those nations will commit in the years ahead and which countries have to pay. Marketplace's Henry Epp reports at the root.

[Darrell Fairweather]

Of these negotiations is that some countries are historically more responsible than others for all the carbon in the atmosphere, says Kenneth Gillingham, a professor at Yale.

[Amy Scott]

It's really the wealthier nations of the.

[Jesse Mecham]

World that predominantly have been leading to the issue of climate change that we have today.

[Darrell Fairweather]

The United States, the United Kingdom, most of Europe bear more blame. So as those nations ask poorer countries to also reduce their carbon emissions, they've said they'll pay to help them do that.

[Amy Scott]

Industrialized countries agreed in principle many times in the history of the climate negotiations to provide this kind of financial assistance.

[Darrell Fairweather]

Kelly Sims Gallagher is dean of the Fletcher School at Tufts University. Here's where things get tricky. That list of industrialized countries that have to pay was made in the 90s.

[Amy Scott]

So countries like China were considered and very much were developing countries in terms of per capita income at that time.

[Jessie Dean]

Back in the 1990s.

[Amy Scott]

But circumstances have changed a lot.

[Darrell Fairweather]

China especially is now much wealthier and more industrialized, but it's not officially on the hook for climate finance, and that's a big sticking point at copper this year, says Rishikesh Ram Bhandari at Boston University.

[Jesse Mecham]

How do you get the politics and the legality, you know, in one place so that we can have a deal that really works for everybody?

[Darrell Fairweather]

And as they figure out who pays, negotiators must also settle on a number, says Ian Mitchell at the center for Global Development.

[Jesse Mecham]

Most people agree that the needs are in the trillions of dollars per year.

[Darrell Fairweather]

Mitchell just landed in Azerbaijan for COP 29. He says he's not particularly optimistic that the assembled countries will agree to an amount that meets needs. I'm Henriett for Marketplace.

[Amy Scott]

If you want to know more about how the US Election results could affect climate policy, the latest episode of How We Survives Burning Questions is out now. Find it wherever you listen to podcasts coming up.

[Jesse Mecham]

So we're seeing a really significant uptick in traffic coming from generative AI sources to retail sites.

[Amy Scott]

AI assisted shopping is on the rise. But first, let's do the numbers. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 47 points, a 10th percent to end at 43,958. The NASDAQ lost 50 points, a quarter percent to finish at 19,230. And the S&P 500 added just one point, barely changed to close at 59.85. Budget carrier Spirit Airlines plunged 59%. The Wall Street Journal reported today that the company could file for bankruptcy after merger talks with rival Frontier failed. Frontier dipped 1 and 8. 10%. JetBlue ascended 98 10%. Rivian Automotive accelerated more than 13%. The electric vehicle maker announced a joint venture with Volkswagen in a deal worth $5.8 billion. Volkswagen slowed 2 and 3 10% EV giant Tesla edged up half a percent. Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10 year t note rose to 4.45%. You're listening to Marketplace.

[Justin Vineyards]

This Marketplace podcast is supported by Rubrik, a cybersecurity company focused on securing the world's data. When cyber attacks put businesses, reputations and careers at risk, Rubrik provides the power to bounce back fast and become cyber resilient.

[Odetta Kushi]

Rubrik.com Understanding personal finance can feel like an impossible task, but it doesn't have.

[Janelia Espinal]

To be that way. I'm Janelia Espinal and on Financially Inclined I'll guide you through simple money lessons that will change your financial future. Learn about credit scores, how to avoid scams, and why you need a savings account. Plus, we explore the brain science behind FOMO and what you can do to make smarter money decisions. Listen to Financially Inclined wherever you get your podcasts.

[Odetta Kushi]

What do they say? More money, more problems, and way more questions from your kids, right? But not to worry. Million Bazillion, a podcast from Marketplace has you covered. I'm Bridget Bodner and with my co host Ryan Perez, we take you and your young ones on grand adventures and comedic sing alongs to answer all the questions your little ones have about money. Join us as we explain how banks work, why name brands are more expensive, and what happened to Black Friday sales. Listen to Million Bazillion wherever you get your podcasts.

[Amy Scott]

This is Marketplace. I'm Amy Scott. We started the show talking about inflation. Quick recap. The CPI was up 2.10percent in October from the previous month, and up 2.6% compared to a year ago. Those are the national numbers, which is how we tend to talk about inflation. But the numbers look different depending where you live. For example, right now inflation in the New York, Newark and Jersey City Metro area is up 4% since last year, while in Phoenix, Mesa and Scottsdale, Arizona, it's up 1.6%. Marketplace's Samantha Fields has more on what drives those regional differences.

[Samantha Fields]

It mostly comes down to one thing, housing. Steve Reed, an economist at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, says housing is one of the few markets that's still very local.

[Darrell Fairweather]

When we think of why would prices be moving more in one area than another? The rental market is really an area that can vary from place to place.

[Samantha Fields]

More than most markets with other things we buy. If prices are rising in one part of the country, they're likely rising at a similar rate everywhere else. Take groceries.

[Darrell Fairweather]

That's mostly a national market. And it's similar for durable goods. You're not going to have cars getting way cheaper in Seattle, but way more expensive in Tampa, anything like that.

[Samantha Fields]

Same for clothes, electronics, furniture. One way to think about this is that these are products that can be moved from one place to the other. Yi Ming Ma at Columbia Business School says with anything that can be shipped, there's competition. So if a business in Boise raises the price of dishwashers, a customer can just go online and buy a cheaper dishwasher from somewhere else. That's why in a lot of these sectors where moving products around is more feasible, the regional variations tend to be much lower. But with housing, it's a different story. There isn't that same kind of cross border competition. If you need to live in a specific area for your job, you can't really go looking for a cheaper apartment somewhere far away. And economist Jed Kolko says housing costs can behave differently in different parts of the country.

[Jesse Mecham]

In places where there's a lot more.

[Amy Scott]

Demand for housing, maybe because population or.

[Michael Puglisi]

Employment is growing, prices might be rising.

[Amy Scott]

Faster, especially in places where there is growing demand and very little housing construction.

[Samantha Fields]

Housing is a main driver of inflation because it's the biggest monthly expense most people have. So Ken Poole at the nonprofit center for Regional Economic Competitiveness says it's weighted heavily in the consumer price index of.

[Darrell Fairweather]

The basket of goods that a consumer buys. Anywhere from 30 to 50% of their.

[Jesse Mecham]

Wages go into housing.

[Darrell Fairweather]

So even a small bit of increase.

[Amy Scott]

In housing can have an outsized impact.

[Samantha Fields]

On your household budget and an outsized impact on the inflation rate where you live. Barbara Denham at Oxford Economics says in the first couple of years of the pandemic, when lots of people moved away from big expensive cities like New York to more affordable ones in the Sunbelt.

[Jessie Dean]

Places like the Florida markets used to.

[Samantha Fields]

Have the highest inflation rates, and they.

[Amy Scott]

Don'T anymore because their rate of increase in their housing costs is not as.

[Samantha Fields]

Dramatic as it had been, say, two.

[Amy Scott]

Or three years ago.

[Samantha Fields]

In fact, the Tampa area now has one of the lowest inflation rates in the country and New York has one of the highest. While housing is the biggest factor. Yi Ming Ma at Columbia says there is another thing that's playing a role here, gas prices. The extent to which different regions are affected by a change in the gasoline price is the extent to which you drive versus the extent to which you, say, use public transportation. In Tampa, for instance, most people drive. So gas prices are a bigger part of household budgets and the inflation calculation than in New York City, where many people take the subway. So when gas prices fall, as they have recently, that pushes Tampa's inflation rate down faster than New York's. I'm Samantha Fields for Marketplace.

[Amy Scott]

All right, so we've talked about consumer prices and debt. Now to a story about how people spend money. Adobe is predicting online shopping will rise nearly eight and a half percent this holiday season to more than $240 billion. And more people are turning to artificial intelligence to help with that shopping. We're talking ChatGPT, Gemini and new conversational chatbots from retailers. Adobe found that two in five people it surveyed plan to use generative AI for Holiday Shopp year. Corinne Ruff has that story.

[Janelia Espinal]

Victoria Winter relies on AI every day. In particular chatgpt for her to do list. She's an entrepreneur and busy mom of two in Charleston, South Carolina.

[Elizabeth Troval]

Whenever ChatGPT first came to the market, I was like, ah, I know exactly what to do with this.

[Janelia Espinal]

She uses ChatGPT's dictation feature to create a bedtime routine list for the babysitter, transcribe notes from calls and this year for holiday shopping to brainstorm gift ideas for her kids.

[Elizabeth Troval]

I like to get outdoor toys, so it could be like, what's something I could get today that would be appropriate for a four year old that, you know, we could keep adding on to it, making like a full jungle gym.

[Janelia Espinal]

And now she has AI options beyond ChatGPT. More retailers are rolling out Gen AI assistants. It's the first holiday season for Walmart's Chatbot, still in beta, and also the Rufus Assistant, which came out in February from Amazon. Of course, buying online is already super easy for consumers, so Forrester retail analyst Sucharita Kadali says these AI tools are more of a bonus than a necessity.

[Amy Scott]

People purchase repeatedly from Amazon multiple times a day in many cases. So it's sort of what problem are you looking to solve with Gen AI?

[Janelia Espinal]

Kadali says there are three reasons consumers shop online rather than in store to search for specific products, see which retailers sell those products, and to get them delivered fast.

[Amy Scott]

Genai has not proven itself to be that much of a value add in any of those things.

[Janelia Espinal]

What shoppers do seem to be using it for is define brand recommendations and compare prices. It's still early days for Gen AI shopping, and Vivek Pandia, lead Insights analyst for Adobe, says young consumers seem to.

[Jesse Mecham]

Really like it, so we're seeing a really significant uptick in traffic coming from generative AI sources to retail sites.

[Janelia Espinal]

Amazon says its Rufus chatbot has already answered tens of millions of questions from shoppers. It recently rolled out AI powered gift guides. Walmart is talking up the convenience of its chatbot to help find the perfect gifts. CEO Doug McMillan said on an earnings call back in August that Gen AI is already helping drive digital impulse sales. Think you're shopping for a new soccer ball for your kid and the shopping assistant suggests Shin guards includes to go with. But who knows if AI will change how people buy stuff? Brad Jaczinski, a director analyst at Gartner, likens this moment to the early days of Alexa, when people thought everyone would start dictating shopping lists to their devices.

[Jesse Mecham]

But what they ended up using voice search for was less for shopping and more for asking what's the weather going to be, setting kitchen timers, recipes, that type of thing.

[Janelia Espinal]

Jacinski says Genai is most helpful if you're trying to decide on a big purchase, like say, a new tv, which is what he's shopping for right now.

[Jesse Mecham]

You know, even just understanding the brands and what's out there, I felt like it was all new to me because I haven't purchased one in a long time.

[Janelia Espinal]

So he's been asking both Amazon and Walmart's AI assistants for help. Jashinsky says they both generate good review summaries and allow you to compare product details.

[Jesse Mecham]

Or you can ask it if it's a good deal and it'll tell you like about pricing. I think Amazon has the edge with their tool on that side.

[Janelia Espinal]

On the other hand, he says, it felt like Walmart had a bigger selection, but he hasn't bought a TV yet.

[Jesse Mecham]

I feel embarrassed, but I'm waiting for Black Friday deals before I pull the trigger.

[Janelia Espinal]

In other words, AI or not. Just like always, shoppers want a good deal. I'm Corinne Ruff for Marketplace.

[Amy Scott]

This final note on the way out today from the department of no surprise here. Axios reported on new consumer sentiment data from Morning Consult, showing that for the first time in four years, Republicans are feeling good about the economy, Democrats suddenly less so. Our media production team includes Brian Allison, Jake Cherry, Jessica Dueler, Drew Jostad, Gary O'Keefe, Charlton Thorpe, Juan Carlos Tirado and Becca Weinman. Jeff Peters is the manager of media production and I'm Amy Scott. Hope to see you back here tomorrow. This is apm.

[Odetta Kushi]

What do they say? More money, more problems, and way more questions from your kids, right? But not to worry. Million Bazillion, a podcast from marketplace has you covered. I'm Bridget Bodnar and with my co host Ryan Perez, we take you and your young ones on grand adventures and comedic sing alongs to answer all the questions your little ones have about money. Join us as we explain how bank work, why name brands are more expensive, and what happened to Black Friday sales. Listen to Million Bazillion wherever you get your podcasts.