This is a guest post by Cornelia Ortega discussing how retail sales have risen by 1.2%, encouraging hope for Christmas, plus 5 simple ways to boost your sales. Targeted primarily at the offline retail sector but some very relevant points for an online shop as well.
Facts and Figures
The Commerce Department noted that October ’10 sales for the retail industry jumped 1.2 percent from the previous month, the biggest gain since March. The rise was driven by a 5 per cent spike in auto sales, which analysts said was particularly encouraging because it showed consumers were ready to tackle big-ticket purchases. Additionally, September’s sales gain was revised upward from a 0.6 percent increase to 0.7 percent. Still, people remained choosy about where they spent their dollars. Furniture stores and electronics retailers each suffered a 0.7 percent drop in sales. Variety store sales also declined 0.7 percent, while health-care stores dipped 0.1 percent.
