States Retail Sales Activity Falls Fast In February

(Source: MIRS.news, Published 03/24/2025) February sales activity took a nosedive over an optimistic January and ended a four-month trend of strong scores, according to the retail index survey released by the Michigan Retailers Association on Monday.

The 100-point Retail Index is a snapshot of the retail sales activity for the state, with anything over 50 being considered strong. The February Retail Index came in at 41.5 over 62.2 in January. It is the first drop below 50 since September.

"While January's index score was the highest we'd seen in over a year, February's Retail Index sounds the alarm that Michigan's retailers are deeply feeling the impacts of the current economic uncertainty that our country is facing," said Michigan Retailers Association CEO William Hallan.

Hallan said the tariff threats and implementations against Canada, Mexico, Europe and China have created an unstable environment for conducting business. The overall impact of tariffs on the cost of goods and materials was put up as the major concern for retailers.

While those threats remained, they didn't seem to faze the three-month outlook for retailers, where 75 percent seemed to think sales would continue to rise in the state through May.

"If there's one thing we know about Michigan's retailers, it's that their optimism never ceases to impress," Hallan said.

He said the three-month outlook has been consistent, despite market turbulence.

"Retailers are leaning into their entrepreneurial grit and fighting through uncertainty to keep serving their communities however they can," Hallan said.