91¶ÌÊÓƵ

Modern Retail interviewed Professor Tsay about the ripple effect of a spike in gas prices.

From the article:

Andy Tsay, a professor at the Leavey School of Business at 91¶ÌÊÓƵ, said “rising fuel costs hit drivers’ wallets hard and drain money away from retail aisles.”

As expected, Tsay said, gas is the straw that often breaks consumer sentiment. “No matter what the official statistics may say, or may be massaged to say, everything just feels more expensive,” he said.

“Once gas crosses a certain threshold at the pump, you see a broad pullback as people delay big‑ticket purchases and cut back on ‘nice-to-have’ items, even if they still make the essential trips,” he said. 

Tsay went on to say that “any discussion of economic impact has to acknowledge the context of a bifurcated economy, which you may call K‑shaped or barbell‑shaped.” At the top of the barbell, higher‑income households are still spending freely on travel, luxury and experiences, while the broad middle is trading down or pausing purchases altogether. 

“The tariff rollercoaster, immigration policies, energy shocks and now the prospect of extended instability in the Middle East all tend to land hardest on that middle and widen the barbell shape,” Tsay said.

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For retailers, Tsay said, price transparency can be key in maintaining sales during this period. Explaining that some price changes are driven by fuel, tariffs or supplier costs “can build trust rather than resentment,” he said.