Child tax credit payments could act as stimulus for retailers as soon as this month

Child tax credit payments could act as stimulus for retailers as soon as this month

Grocery stores, big-box retailers and even auto mechanics could pick up sales in the coming months, thanks to a new source of cash: Monthly payments that go directly into parents' and caretakers' bank accounts. Starting Thursday, families will receive money for each of their children. The enhanced child tax credits, passed , are intended to fight child poverty. For retailers, however, they could also act as a stimulus that encourages spending on food, school supplies, clothes — or even a car payment. "It's a good thing for and grocery stores," said Jim Sullivan, an economics professor at the University of Notre Dame who is studying the impact of the pandemic on Americans living in poverty. "The retail sectors where middle- and lower-income families spend money are likely to benefit some from this." The payments will be the latest government-funded cash infusion. Retailers, including Walmart and , have said they saw a spending bump after consumers received stimulus checks. Some customers have also had extra money from federal unemployment benefits, which Congress has "This will fill a void with some of the other payments being no longer distributed," said Michael Lasser, a retail analyst for UBS. "It's going to continue to