**Consumer Companies from Levi’s to Target Brace for a Hit from Student Loan Repayments**.
**New York –** The resumption of federal student loan payments, hitting borrowers hard, could have a negative impact on consumer spending in the United States, with discretionary spending categories such as apparel, electronics, and home furnishings at risk..
The last two years have seen student loan payments on pause as part of relief measures during the Covid pandemic, a reprieve that ended on August 31, 2022. The first payments for most federal student loans are due again in January 2023..
According to data from the Federal Reserve, the total outstanding student loan balance in the US stood at $1.78 trillion at the end of 2022, with an estimated 45 million borrowers currently in debt..
The average monthly student loan payment is around $400, meaning that the resumption of payments could have a significant impact on household budgets, particularly for younger consumers who are more likely to be carrying student debt..
Retailers are bracing for the impact, with many expecting to see a decline in spending in discretionary categories in the coming months..
**Levi Strauss & Co.**, the iconic denim brand, is among those expressing concern. .
