By Staff
LANSING - With time running out, Michigan retailers are looking for a strong finish to the holiday shopping season.
November sales were lackluster and December's appear to be at the low end of projections.
In addition, a significant number of retailers are seeing their margins eroded on holiday merchandise, according to the monthly Michigan Retail Index, a joint project of the Michigan Retailers Association (MRA) and Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
The November Index found that 40 percent of retailers increased sales over the same month last year, while 15 percent reported as-good sales and 45 percent recorded declines. The results create a seasonally adjusted performance index of 48.9, down from 52.9 in October.
Fifty-one percent of retailers believe their sales will increase for December-February over the same period last year, while 22 percent project as-good sales and 27 percent predict sales will decline.
The results create a seasonally-adjusted outlook index of 80.4 - down from 88.2 in October.
In addition, 33 percent said their holiday margins are smaller than last year's.
Greater discounting, stronger competition and higher costs are believed responsible.