VIDEO: Retail Sales Don’t Mean Much Right Now

Strange things are happening in retail nowadays. Sales are way down and the economy isn’t improving much, but companies’ stocks are performing well. Click on the Barron’s video below for more details.
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Back-to-School Bust

This one’s gonna be a shocker to most readers: Consumers aren’t going to spend nearly the amount of money on back-to-school items this year as they have in the past. A study by America’s Research Group says sales will drop between 8.5% and 12% from last year.

“Back-to-school spending will be a minor blip on the radar screen for retailers this year,” says Britt Beemer, founder and CEO of America’s Research Group.

Wal-Mart Ditches Monthly Sales Reports

Monthly retail sales are going to get a lot harder to track.

The largest retailer in the world announced that it will not longer supply its monthly sales results. “The company stressed that the move is a way to focus on the long-term view, but it also allows the company to escape the volatility that sometimes comes along with reporting monthly sales,” says this article.

Thanks, Swine Flu

As if the economy needed more problems, now we have the swine flu, and with it reports that it could further destroy consumer confidence.

As one article says: One big fear is that spooked consumers will cut back spending on travel, restaurant meals and trips to shopping malls.

Can Retailers Really Blame the Media?

If you haven’t caught it, there was a great article yesterday in USA Today about the negative impact unfavorable media reports can have on the industry. Over here at Counter Culture, we’ve been pretty convinced of otherwise.

Our main feeling has always been: Do consumers really care that much? If anything, we’ve always thought that reports of a chain doing poorly will actually attract shoppers because they’re going to expect bargains.

Well, this article didn’t necessarily convince us otherwise (we’re not going to ignore a retailer’s announced store closings any time soo), but it did bring up a few points that we hadn’t considered.

VIDEO: Fox’s Retail Conspiracy

Leave it to Fox News to politically charge the retail recession. This video suggests that the Obama Administration is “cooking the books” to better retail sales figures. And we thought WE got accused of too much doom and gloom reporting!

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Costco Hurt by Discounts?

Costco has been a bright stop in the recession.

It makes sense that the wholesale club has done well when consumers are cutting back, buying in bulk and looking for deals as businesses everywhere are laying people off and credit is tight.

February Another Tough Sales Month

Analysts are predicting that most retailers had another tough sales month in February.

Department stores and apparel chains are seen getting hit the hardest, with same-store sales drops forecast at 10.1% and 8.6% respectively, according to one article.

Department Stores To Have a Rough 2009

It looks like a rocky year ahead for department stores.

The bulk of them will start reporting their quarterly earnings over the next few days, and most in the sector aren’t expecting good news…at least until some time next year. “I don’t think we are planning for a quick recovery,” J.C. Penney CEO Mike Ullman said in one article.

Video: Retail Sales ‘Not Getting Any Worse’

We guess this is good news. But BB&T Capital Markets analyst Andy Wolf also points out that “the higher the ticket, the worse it is.”

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