Nik Rajkovic / news@whmi.com

Michigan Retailers Association reports its September retail index dropped to just under 39 on the 100-point scale, compared to nearly 45 in August.

Fifty and above is considered a healthy retail climate.

"The uncertainty of the election has got people waiting to spend their money, and that is definitely showing up in September's numbers," says spokesperson Vic Veda.

When asked to predict their sales outlook for the next three months, 55% of retailers predicted their sales will continue to rise through December and 31% said they expect their sales to decline, and 14% anticipate no change. That results in an Index rating of 68.2, an increase over August’s 64.7, and the highest Index rating since July 2023 (70.9).

"Optimism that we're seeing in the three-month projection really is holding onto that holiday shopping season boosting numbers," she said.

Veda says that's really driving the importance of shopping small this holiday season and getting down to the Main Streets and supporting Michigan-owned e-commerce as well.

"Shifting just one-in-ten of your purchases would produce $2.6 billion in gross economic output for Michigan. Shifting one-in-ten of our purchases from out-of-state e-commerce to a Michigan-owned business. So that is our big focus this holiday season."

You can view the Michigan Retailers Association's latest index at the link below.