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MnRA's Retail Outlook Survey Tells The Real Story; Take The Survey Today

Last year 100 retailers across Minnesota gave us a good look at what they expected over the holiday season and into the new year. That perspective helped MnRA tell the story of retail to legislators and the media.

Help us tell retail's story again by completing our quick eight question Retail Outlook Survey.

 

Elections and Spending

 

From CNBC, Krystina Gustafson, September 21, 2016

"Distraction and anxiety surrounding the presidential election will keep consumer spending in check until a winner is declared.

But if history is any indication, retailers could see a double-digit sales lift in November and December, as shoppers focus on the holidays and release pent-up demand.

According to analysis by AlixPartners, in the 2004 and 2012 presidential election years, year-over-year sales growth slowed an average 22 percent in September and October, as compared with the prior eight months. It then bounced back an average 16 percent in November and December.

While the end-of-year lift was more modest in 2012, rising 9.2 percent in the final two months, AlixPartners noted that year's holiday sales were pressured by disruptions from Hurricane Sandy, which hit the Northeast at the end of October. The firm excluded 2008 from its analysis because of the financial crisis.

"The campaigns are voracious consumers of media of all types," Noam Paransky, a director in AlixPartners' retail practice, told CNBC. As a result, retailers' "message is not able to break out."

Meanwhile, consumers like certainty, Paransky said. That means many will wait until they know which direction the country is headed before they begin shopping in earnest. Paransky expects the post-election sales spike to occur no matter which candidate wins, he said."

 

Health Insurance

From the Pioneer Press, David Montgomery, September 30, 2016

"Minnesota's individual insurance market is in danger of collapse, Commerce Commissioner Mike Rothman said Friday as he announced massive premium increases for 2017 plans.

Insurance companies on the individual market will increase their premiums between 50 percent and 67 percent, on average - among the largest increases in the nation. Meanwhile provider networks on those plans will shrink, and almost all the plans will put caps on the number of total customers they accept.

"These rising insurance rates are unsustainable and unfair," Rothman said. "This is a real emergency situation."

The increases apply to people buying individual health insurance - about 250,000 Minnesotans, or 5 percent of the state. Most Minnesotans get insurance either from an employer plan or from a government program such as Medicare, MinnesotaCare or Medical Assistance. These rates are similar to big increases that insurers proposed a month ago and follow double-digit increases last year."

 

Annual Meeting

From mandated sick leave and minimum wage, to product regulation and plastic bans, local government is venturing into areas historically left to state & federal government.

Join us for a panel of perspectives on what's next in local government regulation and its impact on retail.

Event Details:
2016 MnRA Annual Meeting
Minneapolis Marriott West - St. Louis Park
Thursday, October 13, 2016
11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Investment (includes lunch):
Members & Invited Guests: $35
Member & Invited Guests Table: eight seats, $325
Elected officials: Contact MnRA to register.

RSVP:
Pre-registration required. Call (651) 227-6631 or register online now. Cancelations must be made before noon on October 7 for a refund. Substitutions accepted.

This event is open to members and invited guests. For information on attending contact MnRA at (651) 227-6631.  

 

Federal OT Update

"The House of Representatives has passed a bill that would delay by six months the effective start date of the Department of Labor's (DOL's) new overtime regulations.
 
The new rule will require employers to pay overtime to salaried workers earning less than $47,500 a year, double the current threshold of $23,660.
   
Five House Democrats joined 241 Republicans to support moving the rule's effective date from Dec. 1 to June 1.
 
The White House said that President Barack Obama would veto legislation delaying the rule.
    
The Republican legislation also faces likely opposition by Senate Democrats who could block it from advancing.
 
"While this bill seeks to delay implementation, the real goal is clear -- delay and then deny overtime pay to workers," the White House said in a statement.
   
Opponents have also launched a legal challenge to the rule, Reuters reported, with Texas and 20 other states, as well as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups, filing separate lawsuits in federal court in Texas last week claiming the U.S. Labor Department abused its authority with its drastic increase of the salary threshold."