(numbers in parentheses indicate January results) % Increased % Decreased % No Change Index* Responses Sales 29 (37) 49 (46) 22 (17) 42.2 (47.5) 126 (116) Inventory 22 (20) 42 (36) 36 (44) 41.4 (49.0) 127 (116) Prices 53 (44) 9 ( 9) 38 (47) 70.3 (67.4) 127 (116) Promotions 32 (29) 14 ( 7) 54 (64) 60.2 (64.8) 127 (115) Hiring 6 ( 2) 22 (26) 72 (72) 43.2 (38.4) 126 (116)Outlook for Next 3 Months Retailers expecting increased, decreased or unchanged sales, inventory, prices, promotions and hiring compared to the same period a year ago
(numbers in parentheses indicate January results) % Increased % Decreased % No Change Index* Responses Sales 39 (42) 33 (34) 28 (24) 50.0 (53.4) 126 (116) Inventory 28 (27) 33 (36) 39 (37) 41.3 (43.0) 126 (115) Prices 43 (38) 8 ( 6) 49 (56) 65.2 (67.4) 166 (116) Promotions 46 (46) 6 ( 5) 48 (49) 68.0 (68.8) 125 (115) Hiring 9 ( 4) 17 (19) 74 (77) 45.0 (41.5) 126 (116)February Sales Performance & Outlook for Next 3 Months, by Region
(the first number indicates sales performance for the month; the number in parentheses indicates outlook for the next three months) % Increased % Decreased % No Change North 24 (24) 59 (52) 17 (24) West 29 (41) 50 (26) 21 (33) Central 22 (48) 48 (30) 30 (22) East 44 (30) 11 (30) 45 (40) Southeast 38 (48) 48 (28) 14 (24)Question of the Month How much help do you think the federal "economic stimulus package" will be to your business?
No Help Some Help A Lot of Help 44.4% 53.2% 2.4%*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 Information: Contact: Tom Scott 517.372.5656