US Sales and Economic Recovery

I recently had the chance to get down to Seattle last week and help contribute to the economic recovery by doing a bit of shopping. Here are a few things that I noticed while I was there and why I have faith that the US economy will eventually come back.

1. It appears that retailers are doing what every they can to get the consumer back out to shop. They had incredible discounts, some as low as 80% at some of the high end outlet malls. Most of the stores were busy. Now, what those type of prices are doing to their margins is another story, but the point is they are doing quite a bit to get consumers back out to shop. There are really some great deals to be had.

2. The sales staff there were aggressive. I don't mean in your face aggressive but it was clearly evident they wanted to get the sales. It was a welcome change to Canadian retail staff who tend to just sit by and do nothing. I've had numerous occasions where I was looking to buy, whether it be clothes or a piece of electronics and no one would help me with my questions, or if they did it seemed as though I was annoying them.

3. I always love going down to the US because I'm always amazed at how innovative and creative they can be with new products or services. I always find that the ones who innovate and come up with new ideas make the biggest splash in gaining new sales. I have faith that they will be able to create wealth out of nothing again.