Isle retailers losing Not only did the number of customers shopping at Hawaii retailers drop in the aftermath of Sept. 11, the amount they each spent was down too, according to a new survey of business operators.
hope for recovery,
survey says
A study says merchants experienced
a drop-off in customers and
spending after Sept. 11By Russ Lynch
rlynch@starbulletin.comThe number of customers in January was down from a year earlier at 46 percent of the businesses polled by the Business Banking Council, and up at only 20 percent. The average amount the customers spent was down at 51 percent of the retailers and up at only 11 percent. In a similar survey at the start of last year, only 26 percent reported a customer-flow decline and 12 percent said average spending per customer had declined.
The council, which is sponsored by American Savings Bank, has been polling island businesses each quarter since 1998. Last year, it added a special section on retailing. And this year, 108 retailers participated.
The report said retailers are not as optimistic about economic recovery as they were a year ago.
As for the general economic outlook, 31 percent of the 402 businesses polled said they expect things to improve in the coming year, 24 percent said the economy will worsen and 42 percent said they expect no change.
Asked about the performance of their own businesses, 46 percent said their revenues declined over the past year, with 33 percent reporting increases. Profits before taxes were down year-over-year at 42 percent of the businesses polled and up at only 28 percent.
The terrorism attacks of Sept. 11 took their toll, the report said, with 23 percent of the retailers and 22 percent of all of the survey participants reporting major declines since then. The average business respondent reported a 23 percent drop.