Economy news – The Sundance Company

Online Retail Sales Will Boost Brick and Mortar Store Sales This Holiday Season

Retailers should expect small gains in their 2011 sales this coming holiday season, and those gains will more likely come from non-store sales, Deloitte forecasted this week.

Deloitte’s retail and distribution practice expects total holiday sales to reach between $873 billion and $877 billion, representing a 2.5% to 3% increase over last season in November through January holiday sales, excluding motor vehicles and gasoline. This growth rate is smaller than last year’s 5.9% gain.

The bulk of the forecasted gain that Deloitte expects will come from a 14% increase in non-store sales. Nearly three-quarters of non-store sales result from the online channel, with additional sales coming from catalogs and interactive TV.

Deloitte’s forecast followed last week’s ICSC forecast that predicted about the same range.

“Double-digit growth in the non-store channel has given the industry a major boost, and retailers that put online channels to work for their physical storefronts have the advantage,” said Alison Paul, vice chairman, Deloitte LLP and U.S. retail & distribution sector leader. “The brick-and-mortar store is still central to the shopper experience. Retailers that integrate the power of the sensory experience in-store with relevant, timely information via their websites and mobile applications are well-positioned to lead the way this holiday season.”

Paul added, “As many holiday shoppers will be researching online and on their smart phones both before and during their trips to the store, retailers need to be sure their digital strategy is both flexible and focuses on a personalized experience this season. Store associates can be a critical element to any digital strategy to complete and up sell once the customer comes into the store. It’s important that they are well versed on the latest products, promotions, pricing and competitor offerings that consumers receive through online and mobile channels.”

So is your online retail store ready for the holiday shopping season?

About The Sundance Company
Established in 1976, The Sundance Company has the experience to help you with your commercial real estate needs in Boise, Meridian, Nampa, and the greater Treasure Valley. If your requirements include property management, leasing, real estate development, project planning, construction or space planning then look to us. The Sundance Company has more than 1.5 million square feet of office and industrial space available in prime Boise and Meridian locations. More information is available at www.sundanceco.com or 208.322.7300.

March 6, 2011 sundancecompany Boise Commercial Real Estate, boise valley commercial real estate, Economy news, The Sundance Company

Ten Signs The Economy Is On The Upswing

As winter still has its clutches on a majority of the country, a little good news from the economic front might help you forgot that you have to scrape ice off the windshield tomorrow for at least a few minutes. And who would have guessed that men’s underwear would be one of the top indicators.

Please click here to read the rest of the story …

http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/112150/signs-economy-is-on-the-upswing

September 2, 2009August 30, 2009 sundancecompany commercial real estate, Commercial real estate news, Economy news, The Sundance Company

NAR: Commercial Real Estate Decline Starts to Moderate

Erika Morphy of GlobeSt.com published this article last week about commercial real estate.
The decline in commercial real estate appears to be slowing, at least according to the latest statistics from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). So suggests its leading economic indicator, which registered only a 1.3 percentage point decline in its Commercial Leading Indicator for Brokerage Activity for Q2. The index reading was 101.5, compared to 102.8 in Q1. The index is at its lowest point since its inception in Q1 1994–as well as a steep drop from Q2 2008, when it was at 117.6.

“The decline is moderating a bit–we can hope that the steep declines may be coming to an end–but we are not nearly back to normal,” Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, tells GlobeSt.com.

The slight easing of credit and introduction of liquidity into the sector is largely the reason, he continues. TALF was extended for a few months beyond the December 2009 expiration date, Yun notes. Also, “there has been a nice gain in the REIT stock price index, which implies that credit conditions may be loosening.”

Yun’s best guess for commercial real estate recovery? “We’ll be bouncing along the bottom for some time, but meaningful gains won’t occur until the second half of next year.”

Getting to that point, though, will not be pretty. NAR is forecasting sharp increases in vacancies for the next year. It expects office vacancy rates to increase from 15.5% in the second quarter to 18.8% in the second quarter of 2010.

In the industrial market vacancy rates are likely to rise from 13% now to 15% in Q2 2010. Retail vacancies will edge up from 11.7% in Q2 2009 to 12.9% in the same period of 2010. Multifamily vacancy rates, by contrast, are expected to slip from 7.4% now to 7.1% in the second quarter of next year.

NAR is not the only leading economic indicator to point to an upcoming recovery. The American Institute of Architect’s latest Architecture Billings Index also suggests a rebound may be underway.

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