PwC

Attention is turning to how US consumers are spending, with analysis pointing to a K-shaped economy in which higher-income households continue to spend freely while lower-income households cut back as prices and borrowing costs bite. PwC is among the firms examining the split, which helps explain why some retailers and sectors are thriving while others struggle, and why headline spending figures mask widening inequality between American households.

PwC warns that companies risk losing their most AI-capable employees while failing to bring the majority of their workforce along with new AI tools. Firms that focus AI investment and training only on a small tech-savvy group may see those workers leave, while the wider workforce remains undertrained and disengaged from AI adoption.