Wrapping Up 2016 - Dec 2016 News from St. Albert Economic Development

Dec 2016

This Month's Issue:
Wrapping Up 2016

3 Important Charts to Monitor in 2017

Last week, Jason Kirby of Maclean's Magazine published his yearly article on the "top 75 charts every Canadian should watch" in the new year. While 75 might be too many charts for most of us to stomach following throughout the year, the Economic Development team has selected three that will be telling for how the Alberta economy will fare in 2017. The original 75 can be found here.

1. Rising Inflation

As global economies stabilize following the oil price crash, we are likely to see commodity prices begin to rise with news of OPEC's production caps and other cuts to global oil production. In conjunction with a weak Canadian dollar, importers may be faced with rising costs to bring goods into Canada. Subsequently, they are likely to 'pass the buck' on to consumers to shoulder the brunt of this swing, resulting in climbing inflation on everyday goods. As one of the Bank of Canada's mandates is to stabilize price increases, the inflation rate has been steadily remaining beneath 2% for the last 5 years. This bump in the inflation rate could shock the Canadian economy, reducing consumer confidence and purchasing power, and forcing the Bank of Canada to act to curb the risk of inflation.

2. OPEC Oil Production

OPEC is an economic union of oil producing nations, representing 42% of global oil production, and harboring 73% of the world's proven oil reserves. The dramatic fall in oil prices in 2015-2016 was brought on by a glut of supply in the global market, caused primarily by members ramping up production in an effort to protect market share against emerging US shale oil. This policy failed the members of OPEC, as plummeting oil prices resulted in economic turmoil to the member states, and the global economy. A deal announced late in 2016 to curb production and stabilize the global oil market could prove to be a beacon of hope for our sputtering provincial economy. The biggest question on everyone's mind is whether resurrected oil prices will prove too tempting for the world's largest petrol union to resist ramping up production. Following this chart will tell us how stable the price of oil will remain through 2017, and therefore will give us a good indication on the recovery of the Alberta economy.

3. How will Carbon Tax Affect Gasoline Demand in Alberta?

As January 1st 2017 looms on the horizon, and with it the implementation of Alberta's carbon levy, questions on it's economic impact abound. An interesting indicator can be found in the per-capita fuel consumption of residents. Albertans, famously supportive of the local oil industry, are the highest per capita fuel consumers in all of Canada, averaging more that 125L of fuel per month, per resident. The implementation of the carbon levy, which will confront heavier consumers of fuel directly, has historically seen an accompanying drop in fuel consumption as the market adapts to rising costs. Using BC as an example, the implementation of a carbon levy saw the per capita consumption fall around 10% over 5 years. Applying that drop to Alberta's fuel consumption would reduce the per capita usage of fuel to around 110L per month, which amounts to a significant reduction on the total consumption of the province. Monitoring this chart will allow us to establish the efficacy of the carbon levy on reducing GHG emissions, while simultaneously allowing us to asses the economic impact to producers.

Although we've only selected three of the charts, the original article contains many more that are of interest to the various industries present in our city. As 2017 approaches, we can confront some uncertainty with statistical analysis, allowing us to better plan for turbulence and become a more resilient economy.

In This Issue

3 Important Charts to Monitor in 2017

Upcoming Business Trends to Watch Out For

Proposed 2017 Farmers Market Layout

Beat the Post-Holiday Slump

Start a Business @ The Collective

2017 Canadian Retail Innovation Challange

Business Spotlight On...Karries Costumes and Dance Supplies

New Businesses in St. Albert

Monthly Growth Stats

Join the Conversation!

Upcoming Events

Impact Luncheon EEDC

Jan 10

2017 Edmonton Chamber Ball

Jan 27

2017 Business Breakfast (Details TBA)

March 15

Upcoming Business Trends to Watch Out For

by Rhys Chouinard ( [email protected] )

Society and technology are changing more and more rapidly as time goes on. Keeping up-to-speed on the newest trends can help a business optimize its products and services, reducing the risk of becoming uncompetitive in a changing landscape. There are many regional and provincial factors impacting St. Albert businesses, from new tax policies to global energy prices. Sometimes it's useful to take a step even further back and look at a very high level at new trends that could impact your business. Below are the top three business trends to watch in 2017, with some thoughts about how they could impact local businesses.

1) Baby-boomers retire, causing a shift in business processes.

As more baby boomers retire, there will be a passing-of-the-torch from their generation of businesses to a new generation of businesses that are started and operated by millennials. This could result in more service-based, technology driven, and globally-reaching local businesses. Refined transportation networks, digital sales processes, and online reviews mean more businesses are living and dying by their customer service capabilities. There may also be a business void left by outgoing retirees, which presents an opportunity to aspiring entrepreneurs.

2) Green-focused processes and businesses become more vogue.

Governments around the world are responding to the signs of global climate change with attitudes and policies towards greener processes at all levels of the economy. This in turn generates a drive for businesses to adapt to new regulations, policies, and taxes. At the St. Albert level, there may be the opportunity for businesses to leverage incentives for changing their processes to become "greener". The Solar Energy Society of Alberta maintains a list of various incentive programs available to local businesses, through various governments and organizations. https://solaralberta.ca/grants-and-incentives

3) Digital payment services become more ubiquitous.

One process central to almost all businesses is the collection of payments. Enhancing the ease of this process can put a company a step ahead of the competition, if done correctly. About 85% of Canadian households have mobile phones, and those phones are more likely to be in the hands of the parents, who have the greatest purchasing power. Services like Apple Pay, which is a mobile payment and digital wallet system, are allowing customers to increase the speed and efficiency of transactions with businesses. Starbucks mobile-pickup allows coffee-addicts to order a drink ahead of time and skip the line, increasing the organization's competitiveness with other fast-service coffee chains. Digital payment systems can reduce staff hours associated with payment processing, freeing up those staff to concentrate more on the task of delivering goods and other services to customers, increasing overall satisfaction. St. Albert businesses should consider whether implementing digital payment services is part of the business plan for upcoming years, and avoid being left behind on this emerging trend.

Proposed 2017 Farmers Market Layout

Beat the Post-Holiday Retail Slump

by Harold Pacheco ( [email protected] )

In comparison to the period starting from Black Friday, and ending with the Christmas Holiday rush, January tends to be a slower month for retail stores. Help beat the after-holiday slump by trying these proven strategies for sales.

Re-target Holiday Customers with Complementary Products

If you have a solid database of your customers and their purchases, you can use the information to suggest related items. Using the example of a sports store, you can flag people that had purchased a pair of running shoes to receive notifications on a sale of running attire or a fitness tracker. There's a good chance that some of these customers are just getting into this activity, and looking to obtain more equipment that will support them.

Launch a New Product

Start the new year off by presenting a new product or service. Benefit from the initial slowdown by taking extra time to focus on doing a proper launch and implementing a strong marketing strategy to help get the word out.

Offer Timed Incentives

Keep those customers coming back for more by offering a coupon that is valid only for January. If the reason that some of these people purchased from you was due to price, then this will create incentive for them to come back during a non-traditional time.

Build Up Social Media Awareness

Encourage your customers to take pics of their gifts and tag themselves in social media posts. This will help increase engagement as well as increase the overall satisfaction and good feelings that customers associate with your product. This in turn, will lead to increased word-of-mouth and awareness of your offerings. Positive comments from trusted and personal sources are one of the biggest motivators for referral purchases.

Start a Business @ The Collective - Apply now!

The Collective Marketplace is a space where young adult can flourish into entrepreneurs in a safe environment. We provide young entrepreneurs a place to start and grow their business and mentorship from successful business partners who are passionate about seeing new retail thrive.

Vendor Opportunities

Do you have a business you would like to get started? Apply to be a vendor at The Collective Marketplace on our website.

Apply to:

Ben Huising

Youth Asset Development Coordinator,

Community & Social Development