For Immediate Release
August 27, 2003

LANSING — Michigan retailers’ sales and forecasts improved in July to their highest levels in more than a year.

Projections for sales growth rose to their highest point since May 2002, and July sales performance was the best since January 2002, according to the Michigan Retail Index, a joint project of the Michigan Retailers Association (MRA) and Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

According to the Index, which is based on a monthly survey of MRA members, 63 percent of retailers project increased sales for August-October over the same period a year ago, while 15 percent expect declines and 22 percent predict flat sales. The results create a seasonally adjusted outlook index of 71.4, up from 68.1 in June. It was the best August-October forecast in three years.

Fifty percent of retailers increased sales in July from the same month a year ago, while 39 percent experienced declines and 11 percent reported no change. The results create a seasonally adjusted performance index of 54.3, up from 42.6 in June. It was the best July since 1999.

"Michigan retailers’ sales performance registered the largest jump in many months and is in keeping with national reports of strong retail sales," said Larry Meyer, MRA chairman and CEO. "Warm weather, heavy discounting and early back-to-school spending—fueled in part by the first wave of federal child-tax-credit checks—were chiefly responsible."

The Michigan Retailers Association is the unified voice of retailing in Michigan and the nation’s largest state trade association of general merchandise retailers. MRA’s more than 5,800 retail business members operate more than 13,000 stores across the state.

Note: William Strauss, Senior Economist and Economic Advisor with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, can be reached at 312.322.8151.