Walk the streets of the central business district of downtown St. Joseph and you’ll easily see why the Michigan Retailers Association is upbeat about the latest Michigan Retail Index. The summer season continues to draw substantial crowds into the downtowns of the region, and that is being reflected in the latest index that shows overall Michigan retail sales remained strong in May.
May, was in fact, the fourth consecutive month of positive performance as registered by the Michigan Retail Index. That index is a joint project of the Michigan Retailers Association and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
According to May’s report, fully 78-percent of retailers reported that their May sales were better than, or as good as, a year ago, and that is the strongest showing since July of last year.
James Hallan is President & CEO of the Michigan Retailers Association. He says, “Michigan’s unemployment rate fell in May. Consumer confidence rose in May. It’s no surprise, then, that shoppers were in a good state of mind and remained willing to make purchases.”
Retail sales increased across the U.S. Excluding autos and gasoline, sales climbed 0.4 percent, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.
The May Michigan Retail Index survey found 54-percent of Michigan retailers increased sales over the same month last year, while 22-percent recorded declines and 24-percent reported no change. The results create a seasonally adjusted performance index of 65.1, down slightly from the year’s high of 66.0 in April. A year ago May the performance index stood at 47.4.
The 100-point index gauges the performance of the state’s overall retail industry, based on monthly surveys conducted by MRA and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s Detroit branch. Index values above 50 generally indicate positive activity; the higher the number, the stronger the activity.
Looking forward, 67-percent of retailers expect sales during June–August to increase over the same period last year, while 10-percent project a decrease and 23-percent no change. That puts the seasonally adjusted outlook index at 74.6, down from 80.1 in April. A year ago May, the outlook index stood at 73.
