Here is a brief look at USA retail sales for December 2018

1. Retail Sales – USA – December 2018
Paul Young CPA CGA
February 16, 2019

2. Paul Young - Bio
• CPA, CGA
• Academia (PF1, FA4 and MS2)
• SME – Risk Management
• SME – Close, Consolidate and Reporting
• SME – Public Policy
• SME – Internal Controls
• SME – Financial Planning and Analysis
• SME – Business Strategy
• SME – Emerging Technology
• SME – Financial Solutions
• SME – Business Process Change
• SME – Supply Chain Management
Contact information:
Paul_Young_CGA@Hotmail.com

3. Agenda
• Summary – Retail Sales
• Retail Sales for past 10 years (USA)
• BMO Economics / USA Retail Sales
• Retail Store Closures / USA
• eCommerce / USA
• Retail Trends

4. USA Retail Sales – December 2018
Source - https://www.census.gov/retail/index.html
Trump Era

5. Retail Sales Trends – USA
Source - https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/retail-sales

6. USA Retail Sales / BMO
Source – BMO Economics

7. Retail Store / Closures
Source -
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/0
2/13/another-wave-of-retail-
store-closures-coming-no-
light-at-the-end-of-the-
tunnel.html

8. USA eCommerce Trends
Source – BMO Economics

9. Retail Trends
Source - https://www.adweek.com/digital/3-surprising-retail-trends-that-
emerged-from-nrfs-big-show/
• Personalization and customer experience are still key -Personalization and customer experience aren’t
exactly flashy, but both are seeing modern upgrades. Pravin Pillai, global head of industry solutions, retail at
Google Cloud, said in-store tools like vision based analytics or robotics are part of delivering a good
customer experience.
• Reimagining the purpose of a store - Retail was never really dead, but how it functions and what it can do
for consumers is changing. Rob Garf, vp of industry strategy and insights at Salesforce, said he’s seeing more
retailers think about digital transformation and “the role of the store.” Different solutions will work better for
different stores. For example, a drive-thru to pick up product works better for a grocery store than a store
that has activities for kids while parents shop.
• Is this the year for voice commerce? Every year, the hype around voice commerce rises. But this year, the
growing number of people who own such devices from Amazon or Google suggests it’s time for retailers to
figure out what they can do with these products, Gosek said. “There’s so many devices out there that can
offer an experience to purchase goods or interact with the brand we’ve been leveraging,” Gosek said.

10. What’s next for USA Retail Sales
• Fed is monitoring both the economy and consumer debt -
https://moneymaven.io/mishtalk/economics/household-debt-up-
18-consecutive-quarters-to-a-new-record-card-stress-rising-
U3M33uq5MUe161jSMWaCHg/
• USA tax cuts have flowed through the economy. Consumers will
continue to watch their household budgets
• USA trade policies, i.e. China Trade War needs to be resolved -
https://www.magnifymoney.com/blog/news/us-china-trade-war-
affect-american-consumers727396434/ - Any tariffs on Chinese
goods coming into USA will have an impact on consumer pricing