Thank you for visiting SNEWPapers!
Sign up free
Editorial
August 14, 1947
The Potters Herald
East Liverpool, Columbiana County, Ohio
What is this article about?
Editorial critiques newspaper reports of rising retail sales figures as misleading, noting dollar increases mask declines in unit quantities due to higher prices; cites Magazine of Wall Street data for March and urges full disclosure by government agencies.
Clipping
OCR Quality
95%
Excellent
Full Text
FIGURES MISLEADING
YOU CAN HARDLY PICK up a newspaper without seeing
figures which indicate that retail sales are so many per-
centage points higher than last year.
These figures are highly misleading.
They suggest in-
creased production, a higher turnover in goods and a sound
economy with the end of prosperity nowhere in sight. But
they do not tell the whole story.
For example, dollar sales by retail stores in March were
17 percent greater than a year ago but the amount of goods
sold on a unit basis was 13 percent less. "Retail stores sales
in March were 13 percent under last year on a unit quantity
basis; but profits still average well above prosperous peace-
time periods, despite drastic markdowns of substandard mer-
chandise." says the Magazine of Wall Street.
Stating that sales by wholesale grocers have slumped to
only 10 percent above last year in dollar totals, the magazine
went on to say that "as prices for food at wholesale still aver-
age about 50 percent higher than a year ago, this would indi-
cate that wholesalers are actually selling 36 percent less quan-
tity of food than last year at this time."
So it will be well to take such figures with a grain of salt.
Government agencies in particular should tell the whole story.
YOU CAN HARDLY PICK up a newspaper without seeing
figures which indicate that retail sales are so many per-
centage points higher than last year.
These figures are highly misleading.
They suggest in-
creased production, a higher turnover in goods and a sound
economy with the end of prosperity nowhere in sight. But
they do not tell the whole story.
For example, dollar sales by retail stores in March were
17 percent greater than a year ago but the amount of goods
sold on a unit basis was 13 percent less. "Retail stores sales
in March were 13 percent under last year on a unit quantity
basis; but profits still average well above prosperous peace-
time periods, despite drastic markdowns of substandard mer-
chandise." says the Magazine of Wall Street.
Stating that sales by wholesale grocers have slumped to
only 10 percent above last year in dollar totals, the magazine
went on to say that "as prices for food at wholesale still aver-
age about 50 percent higher than a year ago, this would indi-
cate that wholesalers are actually selling 36 percent less quan-
tity of food than last year at this time."
So it will be well to take such figures with a grain of salt.
Government agencies in particular should tell the whole story.
What sub-type of article is it?
Economic Policy
What keywords are associated?
Misleading Figures
Retail Sales
Unit Basis
Wholesale Prices
Economic Indicators
What entities or persons were involved?
Magazine Of Wall Street
Government Agencies
Editorial Details
Primary Topic
Misleading Retail Sales Figures
Stance / Tone
Critical Of Incomplete Economic Reporting
Key Figures
Magazine Of Wall Street
Government Agencies
Key Arguments
Dollar Sales Figures Suggest Increased Production But Ignore Unit Quantities
Retail Stores Had 17% Higher Dollar Sales But 13% Less Units Sold In March
Wholesale Grocers' Dollar Sales 10% Above Last Year But 50% Higher Prices Indicate 36% Less Quantity Sold
Figures Should Be Taken With Caution And Full Story Told Especially By Government