March 2017 – Retailer Sentiment Index

Entering March, the retailer sentiment is slightly above average, with more than half of retailers (56 percent) predicting a 1 to 5 percent increase in customer spending in the next month. Another 20 percent predict an increase of more than 5 percent. Dog food, supplies and accessories continue to make up most of retailers’ earnings, a fact that store owners do not expect to change in the near future. As previous retailer reports have indicated, a vast majority of retailers (90 percent) are keeping their advertising spending low (under $2,000) and plan to continue to do so in the near future.

The data published in this edition of the Retailer Sentiment Index was collected in January 2017.