Nordstrom warns of ‘softening’ consumer spending, but notes fewer price cuts

Upscale clothing retailer Nordstrom Inc. on Tuesday warned of “softening” consumer spending ahead of the holidays. But after more than a year of rushing to clear shelves of piles of unwanted clothing, executives there became the latest to say they haven’t needed to cut prices as much.

Chief Executive Erik Nordstrom said on the company’s earnings call that store inventories — or its reserves of shirts, pants and shoes still sitting in stockrooms — were down 9% during the third quarter. Those thinner stockpiles, he said, “required…