Retail Outlook is Positive

A recent survey conducted on behalf of American Express Canada says 85% of Canadian retailers consider their financial outlook to be positive for the next 12 months. The Canadian Retail Insights Report surveyed 375 decision-makers involved in petroleum, grocery, pharmacy, restaurant, fast food, apparel, general and big-box retail businesses.

"Retail is often portrayed to be in crisis," says Colin Temple, vice-president and general manager of merchant services, American Express Canada. "What we're seeing in this report is merchants are more optimistic than anyone might have imagined."

The optimistic outlook among retail businesses can be attributed to the fact that more than half (52%) of those surveyed say their sales have grown year over year. Retailers credit this growth to attracting new customers (72%) and offering new products (56%).

So what are retailers doing to ensure a good year ahead? Focusing on customers—almost all respondents to the survey (94%) indicated that they are placing a focus on providing better customer service to stand out from the crowd.