Summer is right around the corner and Canadians are not only thinking about how they’re going enjoy the warm weather, but also how much it’s going to cost them. Scotiabank’s Consumer Products Analyst George Doumet returns to the show to talk to Perspectives’ Armina Ligaya about where prices may still be up, where they’re going down and a look at the bigger picture when it comes to retail heading into vacation season. 

Key moments this episode: 

0:57 — What is top of mind for consumer and retailers as we head into the summer? 

2:13 — How is inflation and interest rates impacting consumers? 

2:51 — What is the ‘eighth inning of experience’?  

3:12 — The price of goods: what's up and what's down 

5:46 — How did retailers go from supply woes to high inventory woes? 

6:57 — How does what’s happening in the workplace affecting retail spending? 

8:22 — What’s behind the recent store and chain closures we’ve been seeing? 

9:45 — What is ‘bifurcation’ and why is it a key theme this summer in retail? 

10:16 — Can anything we’re seeing now apply to the crucial holiday shopping season? 

11:00 — The most important question – what is George's favourite ice cream flavour?