Tag Archives: National Retail Federation

The Quiet Revolution In American Shopping

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One America News posted an article today about the changing habits of shoppers in America.

The article reports:

U.S. shoppers made more purchases online on Black Friday than in the mall – hurting traffic and sales at brick-and-mortar stores, according to data that offered a glimpse into what is still one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

For the first time in several years, however, store traffic on Thanksgiving evening grew – indicating a shift in when consumers are leaving their homes to shop. It is also a sign of how Thursday evening store openings have continued to hurt what has traditionally been a day that kicked off the U.S. holiday season.

The importance on the shopping calendar of Black Friday, or the day after the U.S. Thanksgiving Day holiday, has waned in recent years. This is due to the choice by many retailers to open their stores on Thursday evening, as well as to early holiday promotions and year-round discounts. However, it is increasingly turning into a day when shoppers do not necessarily flock to stores but spend heavily online.

Also, for most retail chains, Black Friday store traffic and sales data is not necessarily grim as consumers continue to spend, consultants said. Winning the transaction, whether online or in-store, has now become more important for retailers than where it occurs.

Most major stores have followed the example of Amazon, making things available online (with options of in-store pick up). Shoppers can now find an item online, place an order, have it delivered, or go to their local store to pick it up immediately or within a day or two.

The article concludes:

Shopper traffic on Thanksgiving evening increased by 2.3%year-over-year but was dragged down by Black Friday, which fell 6.2% from a year ago.

Brian Field, senior director of global retail consulting for ShopperTrak, said the traditional pattern of shoppers visiting stores has been disrupted not only by online shopping but by offerings like “buy online and pick up in store,” a growing category, which is not included in store traffic count on Black Friday.

“What all of this really boils down to is the customer journey has changed, now it can start anywhere online, in-store and end anywhere … and it is about making sure the customer makes the purchase and stays loyal to the brands more than where it happens,” he said.

Preliminary data from analytics firm RetailNext showed net sales at brick-and-mortar stores on Black Friday fell 1.6%, which the firm said is slower than in previous years. No data was yet available for actual spending in stores.

The National Retail Federation had forecast U.S. holiday retail sales over the two months in 2019 will increase between 3.8% and 4.2% from a year ago, for a total of $727.9 billion to $730.7 billion. That compares with an average annual increase of 3.7% over the past five years.

Consumer spending is a major part of the health of the American economy. The increase in holiday retail sales is part of what keeps our economy growing and thriving.

American Businesses Get A Break

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The Hill reported yesterday that U.S. District Judge James Boasberg has struck down the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) rule that would have shortened the time frame between a union approaching a company to unionize and the vote of unionization. The lawsuit against the rule was supported by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace.

The judge struck down the rule based n the fact that the NLRB only had two members when it passed the rule–three are needed to form a quorum.

The article reports:

Trade associations praised the court ruling Monday.

“In their rush to conclude their rulemaking before the end of Board Member Becker’s recess appointment, the board took shortcuts in the process, and the court rightly ruled that the rule is invalid because the board lacked the necessary quorum to conduct business,” said David French, senior vice president for government relations for the National Retail Federation (NRF), in a statement.

The problem with the law was that it did not give companies enough time to explain to employees what the downside of unionization would be. The other thing to note here is that the rule was struck down because of the way it was passed–not on the merits of the rule. That means that if the composition of the NLRB changes in the future so that it is entirely pro-union, this rule will probably go into effect. That is another reason to consider carefully who you vote for in November–the President appoints the members of the NLRB.

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Will Starting A Trade War With China Create Jobs In America ?

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Investors.com posted an editorial yesterday about the China currency bill the Senate is planning to introduce this week. The National Retail Federation (NRF) has stated their opinion that passage of the bill will cost American jobs–not create them.

Today’s Wall Street Journal (not linked–subscribers only) posted an editorial titled, “The Obama-Romney Tariff.” The article at the Wall Street Journal describes the bill as “the most dangerous trade legislation in many years.”

The article at the Wall Street Journal reports:

The legislation is now coming to the floor because Senate Democrats want protectionist political cover against unions in return for voting on the free-trade pacts with Columbia, Panama and Korea that President Obama finally sent to Congress yesterday. But what is cynical posturing in Washington may look more threatening to the rest of the world, and once trade wars start they can be hard to stop.

We do not trade with China on an even level–they use slave labor and they manipulate their currency to give themselves an advantage. The Chinese are not fair trading partners. I understand that, and I would like to see that change. However, this may not be the time to attempt that change. We need to clean up the internal downward forces on the American economy so that we approach this problem from a position of strength rather than a position of weakness. The answers to America’s economic problems are internal–they are not external. This currency bill is not Smoot-Hawley, but unfortunately, it may have a similar result.

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