Consumer Spending Indicates Retail and Manufacturing Sectors are Growing

After a colder-than-usual winter for much of the U.S., there are many indications that not only is spring on the way, but a healthy economic bounce back is, too. Recent consumer spending reports that point to growth.

Consumer Spending Shows Improved Economic Outlook Across a Number of US Sectors

This  roundup of economic news and articles demonstrates that U.S. business owners have reason for optimism. Business owners should be ready to implement growth strategies now in order to take advantage of upticks in consumer spending, jobs, manufacturing and distribution thanks to a rebounding economy.

Best Retail Sales Gains in 18 Months

reuters.com – (Reuters) – Thanks to consumer spending, the U.S. Commerce Department reports an increase of 1.1% in March, the biggest gain since September 2012, and February’s numbers were raised from an increase of 0.3% to an increase of 0.7%. During the same period, job growth averaged just under 200,000 jobs added each month. While sales at electronics and appliance stores as well as gas stations fell, retailers in furniture, clothing, general merchandise, health and personal care, food and beverage, sporting goods, non-store retailers and restaurants all showed gains.

Best Jobs Gain in 2 Years

news.investors.com – (Investors Business Daily) – In April, employers added 288,000 jobs, the most in 2 years, according to the U.S. Labor Department. While gains occurred largely because more than 800,000 exited the labor force, there are several pieces of good news in the most recent Labor Department findings.

Manufacturing Growth Up for a Third Straight Month, Consumer Spending Rise Fastest in 4 Years

news.investors.com – (Investors Business Daily) – The U.S. manufacturing sector is enjoying a third consecutive month of gains; in fact, April’s gains were better than expected as consumer spending rose in March at the fastest pace in four years.

In addition to support from U.S. consumer spending, manufacturers are also predicted to benefit from a recovering Europe. Russell Price, senior economist with Ameriprise Financial is quoted as saying that “the competitive landscape for U.S. manufacturing prospects are better today than they have been in decades,” and goes on to predict that manufacturers are likely to be hiring as a result.

Manufacturing Optimism Best in 8 Years

pwc.com – Price Waterhouse Cooper – PwC’s Manufacturing Barometer® (a quarterly survey of US executives) April 2014 whitepaper notes that for US manufacturers, domestic outlook is at its highest point in eight years. Although the hiring outlook has not changed, there is increasing concern about the pool of available qualified workers available to hire. Should manufacturing growth continue to outpace expectations, look for increases to the rate of hiring to follow.

It’s not just the signs of spring that abound; gains in retail, manufacturing and consumer spending all point to a growing economy. Is your business ready to grow?

We provide business finance tools for both B2C (business-to-consumer) and B2B (business-to-business) sellers that help them unlock working capital in order to grow their organization or improve and manage cash flow more effectively.

Unlock working capital by freeing up the money locked down in accounts receivable invoices:

Businesses that invoice customers can also leverage their accounts receivables invoices to access the money owed them by customers immediately, without waiting for customers to pay. This process is known as invoice factoring (or A/R factoring) and has been used as a means of financing for centuries.

When clients factor invoices they can get immediate access to as much as 98% of the invoice amount, on the same day the invoice is generated. Instead of chasing customer payments or sitting on the sidelines waiting on cash flow, they can focus on growing their business. In addition to putting working capital back to work to grow their business immediately, our non-recourse factoring clients also benefit by reducing (or even eliminating) bad debt risk and all factoring clients can benefit from reducing collections activities and related costs.

Non-retail business types such as wholesalers, distributors, manufacturers, logistics and transportation companies that invoice customers can also take advantage of business cash advance financing in order to infuse additional cash into their business. In some cases, clients factoring invoices simultaneously use cash advance financing in order to grow more quickly or solve other cash flow challenges.

Get more information about our working capital financing tools for B2B organizations.