The Conference Coach™

Carolyn Bradfield

Black Friday has come and gone and on the surface, retailers are breathing a collective sigh of relief.  Although it’s not as bad as last year, consumers are definitely proceeding with caution in their Christmas spending.  There were a lot of pundits guessing about what might happen this year, but thanks to one of Copper Conferencing’s customers, I think I had the inside track.

IEM, a company in Atlanta, is in the trash business with malls all over the country depending on them to empty the dumpsters and take care of the waste we all produce when merchandise moves.  Watching how trash flows in and out of a mall is one of the best indicators of how the Christmas season will go for both retailers and with shoppers.

First, let’s talk about inventory.  My absolute favorite store, Ann Taylor and its sister store The Loft stocked way too many clothes last year.  I loved them for it as I snapped up sweaters, pants and accessories for under $10.  This year, Ann Taylor along with all the other retailers have learned that sometimes less is more and inventories are tighter.  That’s reflected in the trash IEM halls away.  Less shipments means less boxes means less trash.

Another interesting phenomenon is that retail stores are still opening, even though you see shopping centers with empty spaces.  However, in the world of trash management, this is not a sign of economic recovery.  Although stores continue to open, many of the customers are waiting much later to pay their bills.  They are struggling to match the cash flow coming in from consumers with what has to go out to stay in business.

I am planning to keep watching IEM as an indicator of how the retail season is going for consumers.  The more trash, the more we spent.  CNN, Fox and all the other networks following the holiday season would be well advised to brush aside the scenes of frantic shoppers waiting for door busters and look at what is in the dumpster to know if 2009 will be a good or bad year for the retailer.

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