April 22, 2019
Happy Earth Day! According to a WalletHub ranking of the greenest states , Minnesota is #2 in the nation when it comes to recycling municipal solid waste.
Consumer Confidence May Be Hitting A Peak
From the Retail Dive, Daphne Howland, April 18, 2019

The vigorous levels of consumer confidence that is bolstering sales in much of the world may have reached their crest, according to the The Conference Board.

"In more than half the countries surveyed, consumers expressing concerns about the current state of the economy outnumbered those who were not concerned," Bart van Ark, The Conference Board's global chief economist, said in a statement. "And, the majority of global consumers do not expect conditions to become more favorable over the next twelve months. Despite consumers' caution with regard to spending, a pullback does not appear imminent. However, the current results seem to indicate that global consumer confidence may be peaking, suggesting that global economic growth may gradually slow in the coming quarters."

Other analysts have also recorded cracks in consumer confidence levels at home. "Down in four out of the past five months, consumer confidence is in a soft patch," Wells Fargo Senior Economist Tim Quinlan wrote in comments emailed to Retail Dive. "It is still elevated by historical standards so we're not yet worried about a retrenchment in spending, but last year's sugar high has worn off."

Last year's late stock market volatility has likely contributed to the softening, but indications that the job market is loosening is also likely contributing and higher gas prices may not be helping, he also said. "Confidence is also a reflection of the labor market — which remains supportive of sentiment — but is starting to show some cracks in the foundation," he wrote.
We Are Looking For Speakers For The October 2 Retail Rally!
We're looking for top-notch, TED-talk style presentations for MnRA's 3rd annual Retail Rally event the afternoon of October 2 in Golden Valley! Retail Rally will feature 5-6 TED-talk talk presentations aimed at 125 Minnesota retailers and their key business partners.

Presentation proposals surrounding innovative strategies, concepts and insights in customer engagement, sales and marketing, operations and workforce are preferred.

Learn more at www.mnretail.org/speak. Proposals due May 6.
Challenging Time For Retail Amid 'Recovering Economy' Speaker Tells Willmar Crowd
From the West Central Tribune, Shelby Lindrud, April 10, 2019

It has been a difficult few years for retailers, big and small and all those in between.

"There is a lot of tough news in retail right now. And you actually will find some good news in retail too," said Bruce Nustad, president of the Minnesota Retailers Association.

Nustad said retail makes up about 20 percent of Minnesota's economy. "We love retail that is brick and mortar, we love retail that is online. We love retail that does both," Nustad said.

Nustad spoke Friday at an event put on by the Willmar Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce at the Oaks at Eagle Creek in Willmar.

In the state there are approximately 50,000 retailers and about 345 of them call Willmar home. Those retailers provide 788,000 jobs statewide.

According to Nustad's presentation, about 64 percent of the retail businesses in Willmar have 10 employees or fewer, 33 percent have 11 to 100 employees and 3 percent have over 101 employees.
"That is a good amount of jobs," Nustad said.

Willmar's unemployment rate is both a blessing and a curse. Sitting at 3 percent, it is lower than the national average of 3.9 percent, which means people have a job and might have money to spend. However, such a low unemployment rate also means retailers are having to compete with each other for employees.

Nustad said the city's median family income, at $56,533, while lower than the national median income, is still in a good place for a healthy retail market. "You are probably going to have some spenders," he said. "These are actually decent numbers."

While the overall economy seems to be improving, Nustad is not ready to claim victory just yet. "I would contend we are still in a recovering economy," Nustad said.
Nomination Deadline For Minnesota's Retail Champions Awards Extended To April 22!
When innovative retailers and their partners gather, learn and celebrate at Retail Rally in October, we'll roll out the red carpet to recognize 10 Minnesota organizations and individuals for being champions of the industry.

Nominations are open through April 22 and can be done at www.retailrally.com. Take a moment to nominate a Minnesota Retail Champion today!
March Retail Sales Gains Are 'Very Encouraging' And 'Set The Stage' For Further Improvements This Year
From the National Retail Federation, April 18

Retail sales were up 1 percent in March seasonally adjusted from February and up 0.8 percent unadjusted year-over-year, the National Retail Federation said today. The numbers exclude automobile dealers, gasoline stations and restaurants.

“March’s numbers are very encouraging and set the stage for improved expectations for the economy in the coming months, especially since the first quarter is typically weak,” NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz said. “These numbers boost first-quarter performance and suggest a strong consumer. It is clear that underlying consumer fundamentals including job and wage growth and healthy household balance sheets continue to support spending. Consumers were busy in March after weaker-than-expected spending earlier.”

Kleinhenz said the numbers could have been better if not for cold weather early in March and changes in the timing of two key religious holidays: “The change of seasons is always a factor because of the weather, and a later Easter and Passover this year mean holiday-related sales that took place in March last year won’t come until April this year and sizably impact year-over-year comparisons.”

As of March, the three-month moving average was up 2.6 percent over the same period a year ago. March’s results make up for a revised monthly loss of 0.8 percent seen in February and build on February’s year-over-year gain of 2.5 percent.

NRF’s numbers are based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau, which said today that overall March sales – including auto dealers, gas stations and restaurants – were up 1.6 percent seasonally adjusted from February and up 3.6 unadjusted year-over-year. The release of retail sales data for December through March has been delayed as the Bureau works through a backlog caused by the government shutdown earlier this year.

The results come as NRF’s preliminary forecast projects that retail sales during 2019 will increase between 3.8 percent and 4.4 percent to more than $3.8 trillion. The forecast is subject to revision as more data is released in the coming months.

Specifics from key retail sectors during March include:

  • Online and other non-store sales were up 9.2 percent year-over-year and up 1.2 percent month-over-month seasonally adjusted.
  • Health and personal care stores were up 1.6 percent year-over-year and up 0.2 percent month-over-month seasonally adjusted.
  • General merchandise stores were down 0.5 percent year-over-year but up 0.7 percent month-over-month seasonally adjusted.
  • Building materials and garden supply stores were down 0.7 percent year-over-year but up 0.3 percent month-over-month seasonally adjusted.
  • Furniture and home furnishings stores were down 1 percent year-over-year but up 1.7 percent month-over-month seasonally adjusted.
  • Grocery and beverage stores were down 1.1 percent year-over-year but up 1 percent month-over-month seasonally adjusted.
  • Clothing and clothing accessory stores were down 2.6 percent year-over-year but up 2 percent month-over-month seasonally adjusted.
  • Electronics and appliance stores were down 4.1 percent year-over-year but up 0.5 percent month-over-month seasonally adjusted.
  • Sporting goods stores were down 10.8 percent year-over-year and down 0.3 percent month-over-month seasonally adjusted.
New MnRA Golf Event At Topgolf June 6