June retail sales hit hard by recession

The recession still appears to be hanging onto Hoosiers. New retail sales figures are out.

"I'm discouraged by these numbers and certainly all of our members are and we look forward to a rebound in our economy and better days ahead," said Grant Monahan, President of the Indiana Retail Council.

June retail sales for Nordstrom are reportedly down 10% and Macy's and JC Penney aren't doing much better. Even stores like Target, Costco and Kohl's are showing declines around 6%. Rising job worries and rainy weather are being blamed for the sales drop especially being seen in the clothing industry.

"You can see how families are thinking today. They've got obligations like the utility bill and groceries obviously come first, prescription drugs and then if something is going to give, it's going to be apparel," Monahan said Thursday.

Some insiders said that things have gotten so bad for some retailers that they're actually reviewing their leases and demanding that mall owners charge them lower rents.

The Indiana Retail Council said retailers have pulled out all the stops to lure shoppers, but some Hoosiers aren't even buying that.

"I think one thing they can do is lower the prices," said Tonya Ellis. "These are just really bad economic times and so people are cutting back."

"I think they need to appreciate the customers they already have," said Todd Iseminger. "Thank them for their business, work harder to get them back in the store, are you satisfied with your purchase? What else can I do? Customer service, that kind of thing."

The report shows a drop among 32 national retailers. June saw weak sales across the board, but the clothing industry took the most notable hit. Perhaps a bright spot in all of this, analysts said folks are saving money more now than they have in many years.