The record-high rate of store closures that rocked the retail industry last year has continued into 2018, with more than 3,800 closures expected this year, according to an analysis by Business Insider.

1. RETAIL SALES –
UNITED STATES –
MARCH 2018
BY: PAUL YOUNG, CPA, CGA
DATE: APRIL 17, 2018

2. DISCLAIMER
• This presentation looks at USA Retail Sales for January 2018

3. PAUL YOUNG - BIO
• CPA, CGA
• Academia (PF1, FA4 and MS2)
• SME – Risk Management
• SME – Close, Consolidate and Reporting
• SME – Public Policy
• SME – Emerging Technology
• SME – Financial Solutions
• SME – Business Process Change
• SME – Supply Chain Management
Contact information:
Paul_Young_CGA@Hotmail.com

4. AGENDA
• Total USA Retail Sales
• Summary by Segment
• Household Debt / USA
• Retail Trends
• Retail Closing

5. TOTAL USA RETAIL SALES
SOURCE - HTTPS://WWW.CENSUS.GOV/RETAIL/MARTS/WWW/MARTS_CURRENT.PDF

6. RETAIL SALES /
USA BY SEGMENT
SOURCE – BMO ECONOMICS

7. HOUSEHOLD DEBT
/ OECD
Source -
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2017/
11/23/canadians-household-debt-
tops-all-other-countries-in-oecd-
report_a_23286624/

8. RETAIL TRENDS
Source - https://www.allianceexperts.com/en/knowledge/exports/top-retail-trends-worldwide/
1. The rise of the flexible shop - The pressure on physical stores to change is getting bigger every day. The
number of traditional retailers decreases, but we see an increase in stores in non-traditional formats, such
as pop-up stores and mobile stores. All eyes are aimed at the pioneers in 2017 that take steps in this
direction.
2. Chatbots and artificial intelligence jointly form killer apps for mobile commerce - The use of artificial
intelligence (AI) chat bots facilitating online shopping on mobile platforms is growing strongly. The bots are
available during the entire customer journey. This applies to organizations from all sectors
3. The use of the mobile wallet increases - The number of ATMs decreases sharply. People do not want to
spend cash on cash, but rather pay by debit card or credit card or via their mobile phone. According to the
research 'The Future of Money', consumers expect to pay fully through mobile devices over a number of
years.
4. The APAC region focuses on virtual and augmented reality - China is the epicenter of growth in the global
Virtual Reality (VR) market in 2017. Alibaba and Taobao are market leaders in VR commerce and invest
heavily in VR stores, for virtual shopping experiences.
5. Investment shift to accelerate home delivery - Amazon has made it possible for consumers to deliver
packages within the foreseeable future of the order. Order management solutions and partnerships enable
this development. Accelerated delivery is the way to distinguish you as a company from the competition.

9. RETAIL TRENDS
Source - https://www.allianceexperts.com/en/knowledge/exports/top-retail-trends-worldwide/
1. The voice becomes the user interface for shopping - Consumers are increasingly using voice-enabled services. They
use these services not only to search for the best products or services, but also to actually buy them. Typing, tapping
and swiping is greatly reduced by the use of these voice assistants, because their use is simply easier.
2. Order online and get to the store: as easy as it sounds - The physical store is experimenting with self-service
checkouts and other ways to deliver online orders easily and quickly to consumers who can pick up their online
order via a vending machine similar to a candy or soda vending machine.
3. Global brands investing in Europe avoid mature markets such as the United Kingdom, Germany and France -
Major brands focus more on niche markets such as Portugal and Belgium. The mature markets are dominated by
local players and wanting to be successful in such a country leads to major investments with less result. Luxury
brands put more on the Russian or Eastern European market
4. Customer Focus: Responsibility of All - Customer orientation is an individual responsibility and of great importance
at every level in an organization. This means a change in the job description of many employees and also the
emergence of new roles, such as the chief customer officer. Employees are hired for their client oriented attitude
and then trained on skills rather than being hired on their skills.
5. Client-related brands and retailers dump best-of-breed solutions - Best-of-breed solutions are replaced by
integrated platforms that guide consumers throughout the entire consumer process - from product exploration to
purchase and receipt. Every customer journey is unique and the only way to guide the customer is to understand the
context of the entire journey.

10. RETAIL STORE CLOSINGS
Source - https://clark.com/shopping-retail/major-retailers-closing-2018/or http://www.businessinsider.com/stores-closing-in-2018-2017-12