Retail Relief

On a soft and sultry late summer evening, I joined a couple dozen professionals at the Retail Design Institute’s (Cincinnati Chapter) annual riverboat dinner cruise and networking event. It was my introduction to the group and I was eager to meet and connect with the guests.

Between pre-dinner nibbles and the Queen City’s beloved Graeter’s ice cream finale, I engaged several of the architects and designers in an informal assessment of “the state of the industry.” Basically, I hit them with, “Hey, how’s business?” Since the economy started tanking in ’08, I’ve winced while broaching the subject with other design professionals, watching their expressions deflate like day-old birthday balloons as they recounted postponed projects, canceled contracts, mass layoffs and sinking morale.

But this time was different. One after another lit up at the query, reporting significant upticks in projects and billings. One firm director said he was challenged to find qualified hires to handle increasing workloads. Another architect seemed almost incredulous at his company’s recent good fortune, recounting a nightmarish recent past of out-of-work colleagues reduced to accepting minimum-wage jobs during the depths of the Great Recession.

These informal testimonies of an improving retail landscape are confirmed by official reports, at least domestically. (Europe is another story; it continues to struggle.) As of early September, U.S. retail sales have steadily climbed this year, with four consecutive months of increases, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. The housing recovery and a gradually improving jobs picture, together with a bullish stock market, have resulted in a spending increase on groceries, furniture, building materials, electronics and restaurant meals.

The recovery is by no means robust. Low-income households still struggle, and skittish consumers are allocating more discretionary income to rebuilding depleted savings and retirement accounts than shopping.

Yet pent-up consumer demand for a bit of fun and frivolity is evident in sectors like accessories, which is thriving, according to editor-at-large Steve Kaufman’s report on page 30 of the October issue of VMSD. 

So today we happily meander along the retail river, relieved to have navigated some treacherous rapids, tempered by a survivor’s heightened awareness of likely obstacles downstream.

Hey, how’s business? Drop me a line and weigh in for our year-end industry wrap-up.