April Retail Report – Spring Sales Continue to Surprise
The Big Picture Job gains and better-than-expected March home sales continued to paint a positive picture of the U.S. economy. Consumer confidence did fall from 69.5 to 69.2 last month, but the decrease was marginal. Now, all eyes are on the Fed to see if they will leave interest rates unchanged following a two-day policy [...]
March Retail Report – Spring Momentum Starts Early
The Big Picture In what is no doubt welcome news for retailers, the economy seems to be picking up steam. The unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in four years last week, while the Commerce Department reported that the economy expanded by 3% in the fourth quarter of last year. Rounding out the good [...]
February Retail Report – Making the Most of Spring Sales
The Big Picture Consumer confidence rose for the sixth straight month in a row in February, while optimism about the job market was at its highest since 2004, according to the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Survey of Consumers. In further good news, pending home sales grew to their highest level in 21 months in January, [...]
January Retail Report – Waiting For Spring To Be Sprung
The Big Picture The U.S. economy continues to slowly revive and consumers have taken note. Consumers’ confidence in the economy is at its highest level since May of last year, mostly due to the decrease in unemployment numbers, according to a recent survey by Gallup. While this is good news, experts warn that already high [...]
New Year’s Retail Report – Holiday Wrap Up & Spring Predictions
The Big Picture Although the numbers are still being crunched, December sales look to be higher than expected with many of our better retailers posting double-digit gains in the week leading up to Christmas. This means that for the holiday season overall we could see mid-to-high single digit gains, given that November was a bit [...]
November Retail Report – Holiday Predictions & Spring Plans
The Big Picture Fresh off of Black Friday weekend’s record-breaking sales, it’s hard not to be optimistic about the holiday season. Even consumer confidence has snapped back, with the Conference Board’s Confidence Index rising from 40.9 in October to 56.0 in November as the outlook for jobs and wages improved. But while we expect that [...]
October Retail Report – Fall Gets Off To A Strong Start
The Big Picture The U.S. economy grew 2.5% during the third quarter, driven by higher consumer spending, according to the latest U.S. Commerce Department figures. The growth allayed fears that we would dip into another recession, and many analysts are predicting that stronger consumer spending will extend through the holiday season. Here at Blacks, we [...]
September Retail Report – Holiday Forecasts & Contingency Plans
The Big Picture A looming economic crisis in the euro zone, and high unemployment and political infighting at home are making it hard to rally economic optimism. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has already chimed in, lowering the U.S. growth forecast for this year to 1.5%, down 1% from previous forecasts. Although there is a [...]
August Retail Report: Fall Plans and Predictions
The Big Picture The U.S. economy grew at a slower rate than expected during the second quarter, rising an anemic 1%. And after the debt ceiling debacle and subsequent stock market roiling, some still fear if it were headed for more significant slowdown. However, retail sales beat expectations in July and consumer spending was up [...]
July Retail Report –Summer’s Surprise Uptick & Fall Plans
The Big Picture The U.S. economy continued to show signs of weakness in July, causing consumer confidence to falter. One of the main factors causing concern was the rising unemployment rate. That said, jobless claims fell to their lowest point since April just last week. Also on Americans’ minds is the lack of agreement on [...]
June Retail Report – Gearing Up For Fall
The Big Picture In further proof of a slowdown, consumer spending was flat in May after a 0.3% decrease in April. Ripple effects from the Japanese disaster and rising oil prices contributed to the economic weakness in the first half of the year. However, analysts are saying that these influences are now passing and expect [...]
May Retail Report – Summer Slowdown & Fall Plans
The Big Picture After a slow start in the first quarter, analysts believe that the U.S. economy is improving in the current quarter and could reach a growth rate of 2.5% for March through June. And while increased hiring is expected to spur consumer confidence in the latter part of this year, consumers today still [...]
Early Spring Retail Report – March Sales Exceed Expectations
The Big Picture The economy slowed in the first quarter this year, in part due to rising gas prices, which led to a drop in consumer spending. The 1.8% gain posted for the first quarter comes after a revised 2.8% gain in the previous quarter, and was the slowest the U.S. economy grew since spring [...]
March Retail Report – Consumer Spending Stays Strong
The Big Picture While the U.S. economy continues to strengthen, uncertainty abroad has rattled nerves and stocks recently. Consumer spending is up, posting a 0.7% gain in February, but this is mostly due to rising gas and grocery prices. This increase in spending marked the largest spike since October. Even though unemployment remains high in [...]
Feb. Retail Report – January Sales Jump; Spring Planning Begins
The U.S. economy grew at a slower rate than originally thought in the fourth quarter of 2010, posting a gain of 2.8%. Although this is lower than the 3.2% growth originally anticipated for the quarter, it was still the highest fall growth rate we’ve seen in five years, indicating that the recovery is on track. [...]
January Retail Report – Spring Plans & Fall Trends
The Big Picture The U.S. economy grew 3.2% in the last quarter of 2010, spurred by strong consumer spending, the Commerce Department reported. The growth should come as no surprise to retailers, many of which posted the brightest holiday season in years. Consumer spending was up 4.4% in the last quarter, but analysts warn that [...]
Dec. Retail Report – Holiday Sales Boom
After a slow start to the season, both the economy and retail sales picked up dramatically over the holidays. In fact, retail sales beat all forecasts, increasing by 5.5% in the first 50 days before Christmas, according to MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse. Finally, Americans started to spend like it was 2007.
Nov. Retail Report – Sales Get Into Full Swing
The Big Picture The U.S. economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter, up 2.5%, thanks to increased consumer spending and U.S. exports, according to the Commerce Department. The economy got a boost from a 0.4% increase in consumer spending in October, fueled by a 0.5% jump in incomes. The growth mirrored what we [...]
Oct. Retail Report: Fall Sales Start Strong
As we head into the holiday season, all eyes are on consumers. While the consumer confidence index inched up slightly in October, to 50.2 from 48.6 the previous month, continuing pessimism about the job market might keep some from splashing out this Christmas.
Sept. Retail Report – Fall Momentum Picks Up
The Big Picture Once again, it was another month of mixed economic news. The Consumer Confidence Index fell to 48.5 in September from 53.5 in August, yet many retailers reported gains. Furthermore, the stock market rallied last week on positive economic news that capital goods, including computers and communication equipment, rose 4.1% in August after [...]
August Retail Report – Sales Are Up, Despite Talk of Double Dip
The Big Picture The media has been building a case for an economic “double dip” lately, citing the Fed’s concern over deflation and a dismal job market as evidence that the economy is weakening rather than recovering. Other factors are also concerning, such as the housing market and recent GDP growth figures; however, major retailers [...]
July Retail Report – Summer Slows But Our Merchants Hold Steady
The Big Picture Although overall June retail sales were down for the second consecutive month—mostly due to a drop in auto and gas sales—sales of clothing managed to inch up 0.6%, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. While analysts agree that the recovery is still underway, they also say it is a slow process, given [...]
June Retail Report – Apparel Merchants Keep Up The Momentum
The economic recovery hit a small speed bump in May, with overall retail sales (excluding autos, gas and restaurants) dipping 1.4% from April, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF). Meanwhile, clothing and accessory stores decreased 1.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis.
The news serves as “a reminder of the uncertainty that still exists in the economy,” the NRF said.
May Retail Report – Seasonal Sales Speed Up
The Big Picture The U.S economic picture continues to brighten, as forecasters project an increase in consumer savings and decline in unemployment. Existing home sales even made a surprising recovery, surging 7.6% in April thanks to a federal tax credit for first time homebuyers. The National Association for Business Economics, which surveyed 46 economists, now [...]
