Michigan Retailers Association: Solid Expectations for 2012 Sales
(firmenpresse) - LANSING, MI -- (Marketwire) -- 02/23/12 -- Coming off a positive 2011 and good holiday season, Michigan retailers are looking for an even stronger 2012. Ninety percent expect to increase annual sales, with most projecting increases of 5 percent or more, according to the latest Michigan Retail Index, a joint project of Michigan Retailers Association and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
"Michigan retailers are optimistic," said MRA President and CEO James P. Hallan. "They are looking at improvements in the economy and seeing that translate into better consumer spending and retail sales -- a quarter of them believe their own sales will rise by double-digit percentages."
The industry's overall sales performance increased in January, setting a course for what retailers hope will be continued improvement throughout the year.
The Michigan Retail Index for January found that 48 percent of retailers increased sales over the same month last year, while 32 percent recorded declines and 20 percent saw no change. The results create a seasonally adjusted performance index of 63.8, up from 59.1 in December and 63.2 in November. It was best showing since November 2010.
The Index gauges the performance of the state's overall retail industry, based on monthly surveys conducted by MRA and the Federal Reserve. Index values above 50 generally indicate positive activity; the higher the number, the stronger the activity.
Looking forward, 57 percent of retailers expect sales during February-April to increase over the same period last year, while 9 percent project a decrease and 34 percent no change. That puts the seasonally adjusted outlook index at 78.0, up from 71.8 in December and 75.8 in November.
Nationally, the U.S. Commerce Department said sales rose by 0.4 percent in January, but 0.7 percent excluding autos -- the largest gain since last March.
Note: William Strauss, Senior Economist and Economic Advisor with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, can be reached at 312.322.8151.
January 2012 results
Index figures dating to July 1994 are available at
Retailers reporting increased, decreased or unchanged sales, inventory, prices, promotions and hiring compared to the same month a year ago
(numbers in parentheses indicate December results)
Retailers expecting increased, decreased or unchanged sales, inventory, prices, promotions and hiring compared to the same period a year ago
(numbers in parentheses indicate December results)
(the first number indicates sales performance for the month; the number in parentheses indicates outlook for the next three months)
What is your current projection for your percentage sales increase (or decrease) in 2012?
* Seasonally adjusted diffusion index. A diffusion index, which is the sum of the percent of respondents indicating increase and half the percent indicating no change, is calculated and then seasonally adjusted using the U.S. Census Bureau's X-11 Seasonal Adjustment procedure. Index values above 50 generally indicate an increase in activity, while values below 50 indicate a decrease.
Contact:
Tom Scott
517.372.5656
Themen in dieser Pressemitteilung:
Unternehmensinformation / Kurzprofil:
Datum: 23.02.2012 - 08:33 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 1086151
Anzahl Zeichen: 0
contact information:
Contact person:
Town:
LANSING, MI
Phone:
Kategorie:
Associations
Anmerkungen:
Diese Pressemitteilung wurde bisher 126 mal aufgerufen.
Die Pressemitteilung mit dem Titel:
"Michigan Retailers Association: Solid Expectations for 2012 Sales
"
steht unter der journalistisch-redaktionellen Verantwortung von
Michigan Retailers Association (Nachricht senden)
Beachten Sie bitte die weiteren Informationen zum Haftungsauschluß (gemäß TMG - TeleMedianGesetz) und dem Datenschutz (gemäß der DSGVO).
