The market looks for trends in retail sales–which have improved slightly — to see if there is an economic iceberg lurking under the water. However, a lack of credit, high leverage, and a poor job market continue to rob the industry of traffic. That is not going to charge until the jobless rate–17% by some measures–significantly improves. That may take a year or more.
Consumers with money are going back into malls and super centers. They represent a large part of the population who believe that the recession is over. But, polls from firms such as Gallup show that these shoppers are only a modest part of the overall public. For the rest of the US consumers, the recession has not ended and whatever money they do have will stay in their mattresses.
Douglas A. McIntyre
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
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