Page 10 - May-June-2020

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US retail sales may take ages

to recover as it declines by

over 10% in 2020

The US retail sector could take years to recover from necessities.
the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the hit
could be worse than that of the Great Recession, These estimates assume that widespread social
according to the latest forecast on US retail sales by distancing measures, which have gradually been
eMarketer, which recently said total retail sales will lifted in May, will continue to ease and economic
drop by 10.5 per cent this year to $4.894 trillion, activity slowly resumes in the third quarter, according
steeper than the 8.2 per cent drop in 2009. to a press release from the company.
Brick-and-mortar sales will weigh down overall retail
long term. Brick-and-mortar retail sales will fall 14 per However, consumer spending will likely remain
cent to $4.184 trillion in 2020. It will take up to five dampened throughout the year. Total retail sales
years for offline sales to return to pre-pandemic won’t rebound to 2019 levels until 2022, and
levels. estimates throughout the forecast period will be lower
than previously predicted.
E-commerce is the only bright spot, jumping 18 per
cent this year to reach $709.78 billion as Americans For the first time, Walmart will surpass eBay as the
rely on Amazon and other online retailers for No. 2 e-commerce retailer in the United States.

APTMA demands textile policy capable of doubling exports

APTMA Chairman Amanullah Machera said that textile exports in the next five years.
Pakistani exporters are facing stiff competition from
Bangladesh and Vietnam. The chairman was of the APTMA officials informed that 70 percent of the textile
view that Pakistan can counter the competition only industry is in Punjab, where more than 100 mills have
after exporters get a five year textile policy at hand, been closed due to poor energy policies of the
so they know what will be the tax rates and energy previous governments.
prices.
The previous textile policies have not been much of a
Meanwhile, APTMA Punjab Chairman Adil Bashir has success story, as the Textile Policy 2014-19 failed to
said that the government needs to announce a long achieve all its targets including doubling value
term and comprehensive textile policy if it wants to addition from $1 billion per million cotton bales to $2
see a return of capital investment in the country. The billion per million cotton bales, increasing textile
APTMA Punjab Chairman added that if government exports from $13.1 billion to $26 billion as well as
accepts this demand, they are capable of doubling creation of 3 million jobs in five years.

May/June 2020