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More merchants predict business will heat up The number of Michigan retailers predicting
increased sales for the next three months continued to climb in April,
the seventh consecutive month of rising retail industry optimism. Seventy-three percent said they expect to
boost May-July sales over the same period last year, according to the
Michigan Retail Index, a joint project of the Michigan Retailers Association
and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. When combined with the 17 percent who project
level sales and the 10 percent who predict a falloff, the results create
a seasonally adjusted outlook index of 78.4, the highest since 80.6 in
February 2000. Actual sales performance, however, remained
sluggish during April. Thirty-nine percent of retailers said they
increased sales over the same month last year, while 45 percent said sales
declined and 16 percent reported no change. The results create a seasonally
adjusted performance index of 46.0, unchanged from March and down from
51.9 in February. “April was tough for many retailers
because Easter sales were shifted to March and the weather didn’t
entice shoppers to purchase spring merchandise,” said Larry Meyer,
MRA chairman and CEO. “Even though sales for many general
merchandise retailers were lackluster, a growing number strongly expect
consumer spending will heat up as the weather warms.” Furniture and appliance retailers recorded
the best performance for the third consecutive month, with almost two-thirds
(65 percent) reporting an increase in year-to-year sales. General merchandise
and gift retailers fared the worst, with 11 percent and 18 percent showing
sales increases, respectively. Retailers in central Michigan (from Mount
Pleasant south through Lansing, Jackson and Adrian) reported the best
results in April. Nearly half (49 percent) said sales increased from the
same period last year. The lowest-performing regions were east and southeast
Michigan, with about one-third reporting increased sales (32 percent and
34 percent, respectively). Complete results of this month’s Michigan Retail Index - including data on sales, inventory, prices, promotions and hiring - are available at www.retailers.com/news/retailindex.html. The website includes figures dating back to July 1994.
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