The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1922-01-15
AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE BUYING
MORE

Notwithstanding the general impress
sion that the consuming public has
| been abstaining from buying. the Jan
uary review of retail trade, now COM
pleted by the National Retail Dry
Goods association, demonstrates that
for months past the American people
have been buying more. at lower prices
have, in fact, been living more gen
erously-than they did in the latter
part of 1920.
During November. 1921, retail trade
fell off 1877 per cent in gross value as
compared with November, 1920, but
prices declined to far greater extent, in
typical dry goods staples more than
one third and in many other instances
as much as 40 per cent. The 1877 per
cent reduction in gross value of sales,
taken in Connection with the very much
greater reduction in merchandise
prices, represents almost double the
volume of goods purchased by the con-
sumner for November, 1921, as COM
pared with November, 1920.
This very great increase in con-
sumption progressed further during
December, when retail stores in many
large centers of population reported
sales value as well as sales volume in
excess -, of December, 1920, and few
stores anywhere in the United States
experienced a demand smaller than
that of December, 1920.
Figures of exceptional interest have
been assembled in connection with the
distribution of the gross value Of re-
tail trade for November, 1921, as COM
0Tn
when public eXtrava gance in expendi-
ture was at its height. The decline in
gross value of sales for November,
1921, as compared with November,
1919, for las selected department stores
throughout the United States was As
per cent while the four leading mail
order houses suffered a decrease of
63S per cent. Increases are recorded
for several other classes of retail en-
terprise, ten chains of grocery stores
gaining 1916 per cent; five drug store
chains gaining 1911 per cent; four
and 10 cent chains, % per cent and
three cigar store chains, 23,1 per cent.
The relatively slight decrease sus-
tanned by the department stores is at
tributed to their exceptional facilities
for showing the goods, their cour-
ageous adherence to the policy of ex-
tensive advertising, and their very
general response, even at the cost of
large direct losses, to the popular de-
mand for lowered prices, a policy
which resulted in public confidence
and very marked good will. The as
founding decline in mail order trade is
attributed to inherent inability to
show goods, combined with restriction
of purchasing power in rural districts.
The increase in chain store sales has
been due, in marked measure, to in
crease in the number and the extern
sion of enterprises of this class
The figures applying to department
stores would be incredible. in view Of
the general impression that the pub
lie had been determinedly out OF the
retail market, especially where it was
accustomed TO deal with department
stores. were it not for the announce
ment of the findings of the bureau of
business research of Harvard univer-
sity. which analysed the operating ex-
penses of sos typical department stores
for the fiscal year of 1920. Harvard
university's exhaustive investigation
shows that the common figure for to-
tai expense in such enterprises for
1920 was 25.s per cent of net sales, in