Recession in the Rearview?

The effects of the Great Recession may finally be coming to an end. That's if consumer sentiment aligns with the 2013 Retail Outlook Survey by KPMG. Eighty-five percent of the 101 senior retail execs responding to the survey expect capital expenditures to increase or remain the same over the next year.

The results of the survey indicate that execs expect increase spending on geographic expansion (61%), information technology (40 %) and advertising and marketing/branding (24%). Technology will drive a great deal of the increased growth expected post Recession. Seventy-one percent of the executives are using social media to explore new ways of doing business and to reach their customers. That's up from 58 percent a year ago.

Mobile is also becoming a huge factor. Fifty-two percent of the respondents are making use of mobile and online shopping techniques. Fifty one percent are using mobile and online promotions and coupons. They also expect analytics to play a major role going forward. Seventy-two percent believe that data and analytics offer insights that help them to make strategic decisions.

The results represent good news for retailers. The positive response comes despite a pervasive sense that consumer sentiment remains volatile and unemployment remains high.