LANSING – After a positive January, 80 percent of Michigan retailers expect to increase sales this year, the most by mid-single digits, the Michigan Retail Index said on Wednesday.
Thirty-eight percent of those polled said they expect to increase sales by more than 5 percent this year, 45 percent put sales growth at 5 percent or less, 9 percent anticipate flat results and 8 percent expect a decline in sales.
“January sales were more in line with what we saw all last year, confirming that December was not the start of a trend,” MRA President and CEO James Hallan said in a statement, referring to a dip in December sales. “Despite the many challenges still out there, retailers are optimistic about their sales going forward.”
The Index is a joint project of Michigan Retailers Association and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. It gauges the performance of the state’s overall retail industry, based on monthly surveys conducted by MRA and the Federal Reserve, the MRA said. Index values above 50 generally indicate positive activity.
The January sales index increased to 57.9 compared to 46.6 in December. The price index for the same month dropped to 54.7 from 59.9 in December.
Hiring also increased 9 percent in January, as compared to 8 percent in December. Eighty percent saw no change (compared to 81 percent in December). In January, the Index received responses from 76 employers, compared to 116 in December.
Looking ahead, 55 percent of retailers expect sales between February and April to increase over the same period last year. Five percent project a decrease and 40 percent anticipated no change, putting the seasonally adjusted outlook index at 74.7, up from 63.7 in December, the association said.
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