Evening star., 1950-10-26
BY the Associated Press

Tightening move against imitation
has severely jolted retail-sales
arouno the country.
A Nation wide spot check by the
Associated Press today disclosed a
highly variegated impact on sales
resulting from sitter installment
buying terms imposed last week
by the Federal Reserve Board.
One main fact stands out
people have cut back their heavy
buying because they haven't got
the ready cash for higher down
payments or because their in
comes are too low to meet the
new stepped-up monthly payment
terms.
That is exactly what the Re-
serve Board aimed at with its new
regulations October 16. The reg
ulations frightened up the previous
controls of September Is requir-
ing heavier down payments and a
shorter time to pay.
After less than two weeks of
operating under the new controls,
however, the picture if far from
uniform. Most heavily involved in
sales declines are automobiles,
home appliances, television sets
and furniture.
And the situation is complicated
by such things as war scare buy
ing, automobile model change
overs, color television uncertain
ties, war shortages, and just plain
customer confusion.
For instance, television set sales
in New York are reported to be
on the skids with some merchants
cutting prices to encourage Gus
toners, while on the West Coast
in San Francisco buyers are rush.
ing to beat the November ! 10 per
cent Federal excise tax.
Department store sales reported
by the Federal Reserve Board
show some key cities little af-
fected by credit controls on total
sales, but home appliances and
furniture sales dropped by vary
ing amounts.
Hardest hit, all agree, are stores
specializing in credit sales on low
or no down payments and a long
time to repay. They had to raise
their requirements. and their par
ticular type of customer was SIM
ply priced out of the market.
At the time the first credit reg
ulations were put into effect Sep
tember 18, one group of merchants
said Government terms were less
strict than their own. They were
threatened with a loss of business
to stores offering easier terms.
They didn't like it. Now that
terms are higher, they are salts
fed, but the easy payment stores
are complaining.
Auto Dealers Cry Loudest.
The biggest outcry has come
from automobile dealers of all
types. Their opposition was
termed immediate and violent"
by the trade paper Automotiye
News. Estimates of sales losses
vary in the extreme.
Little note has been taken of
these factors: Motor vehicle sales
fell 4per- cent in September in
Commerce Department estimates.
There usually is a normal lull
during the change lover to new
models and sales had been running
at record peaks for some time
with fall expected for months.
So far automobile manufac-
turers haven't commented on the
credit terms and are prnducing
cars as fast as they can.
The Commerce Depal tment
shows similar pattern in durable
goods like refrigerators and other
such home appliances. There was
a dip in September after the
horean war scare puylng spree.
Some think that carried on over
into October, accelerated by the
usual post-school-season buying
lull that usually lasts until Christ
mas shopping gets underway with
cold weather.
So far there are only scattered
reports of loss of furniture sales
because of curtailment of new
housing construction.
"SOft Goods" Sales Increasing.
One thing many merchants dis
covered was pickup in sales of
merchandise not covered by credit
regulations, particularly the So
called soft goods lines like cloth
ing and furnishings.