Amanda Forrester / news@whmi.com

Michigan Retailers Association says retailers are reporting higher sales for last month.

Sales for July 2024 hit 47.5 on the Retail Index, which is graded out of 100 points. June’s Retail Index for this year was 43.3.

Officials say index values over 50 usually indicate positive activity.

Nearly half of retailers surveyed by Michigan Retailers Association reported a sales increase over June, while 40% reported a decrease and 13% said there was no change in their sales numbers, according to a press release from the organization.

William Hallen, President and CEO of Michigan Retailers Association, said while the reports are showing positive growth, there is still work to be done.

“It’s above June 2023, but it’s not where we’d like it to be,” Hallen said. “Retailers are still struggling to make ends meet a little bit as the economy bobbles along.”

While hardware and home repair stores had the biggest “year-over-year” increase, rising 34.18%, clothing and shoes had the largest decrease, dropping 36.38%, the press release said.

Retailers are being impacted by inflation and staffing issues, Hallen told WHMI. With inflation rates high, people have less money to spend on non-essentials. Summer ending means the work availability for many high school and college students is changing, taking a chunk out of the workforce for retailers.

Unemployment has grown both nationally and locally. Michigan’s unemployment rate for July is 4.4%, while last year’s unemployment rate was 3.8%. The national unemployment rate climbed from 4.1% in June to 4.3% in July, officials said.

There is optimism for the future, however. Growing sales for Michigan retailers can have a big impact on the state’s economy overall, experts say.

“As we look forward to celebrating Buy Nearby Weekend on October 4-6, we encourage everyone to shop local and keep dollars circulating within our communities,” Hallen said. “Our recent economic survey shows that if Michiganders redirected 10% of their estimated $36.5 billion in out-of-state e-commerce, Michigan would gain $2.6 billion in gross economic output.”

Many retailers are expecting sales to keep improving. According to the press release, over half of retailers predicted sales would continue to rise over the next three months.