The New York Times reported today that the Department of Commerce had a positive report about personal incomes, which rose 1 percent in January. “The extra income helped support a better-than-expected rise in consumer spending,” read the piece and “In January while consumer spending was up by 0.5 percent. The income advance was the largest since a 1.3 percent jump in January 2006.”
This is good news for retailers, as the falling national housing market have curbed consumer spending. We’ll have to see if the stock market drop this past week will affect February and March spending, but the strong holiday sales season saw strong growth of sales online. So as online continues to grow and marketers continue to shift efforts into the virtual world, the outlook is positive.
-Dianna Dilworth