Retailers discuss struggles with senator

As President Joe Biden’s proposed $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package advances through Congress, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal heard Friday from Connecticut retailers who spoke of the struggles their businesses are still facing nearly a year since the pandemic hit in the state.

Additional federal assistance is needed more than ever, business owners said during the online forum co-hosted by the Connecticut Retail Merchants Association. Nearly 22,700 small businesses around the state have been approved for nearly $2 billion in forgivable loans through the latest round of the federal Paycheck Protection Program, but many merchants are still suffering.

“The membership of our association has also been hit dramatically by COVID,” said Connecticut Retail Merchants Association President Tim Phelan. “Those are the small independent retailers that make up the backbone of Connecticut’s economy, and they’ve been hurting with COVID and the restrictions in place. In most cases, they’ve been resilient and phenomenal in the way they’ve had to shift gears almost on the fly.”

Retail is one of the industries that has endured the most job losses during the pandemic. Last December, about 164,000 people worked in retail positions in Connecticut, comprising 10 percent of the state’s total workforce, according to the state Department of Labor. But the number of retail jobs was down 8,300, or 5 percent, from a year earlier.

The industry’s employment decline reflects dwindling foot traffic in downtowns across the state.

“I really don’t think that the

PPP is the answer,” said Jody Morneault, owner of the Stackpole Moore Tryon clothing store in downtown Hartford. “If I bring back an employee for eight to 24 weeks, and then I can’t keep them on the payroll because there’s not enough foot traffic in downtown Hartford because all these companies are closed, how will I ever be able to keep them on the payroll eight to 24 weeks later when there’s not a human on the street?”

Blumenthal responded that PPP’s loan terms have become more flexible in its second round, but that Morneault’s story underscored the need for more help. The Biden-backed relief package, known as the American Rescue Plan, includes additional funding for small businesses.

“Your question really speaks to the absolute urgency of moving forward in a big and decisive way,” Blumenthal said. “You can aid those (small) businesses through PPP, but you can’t see small businesses in isolation. They are part of an economy that needs a shot in the arm. Just like we’re giving vaccines, if you stop with one dose, you’re not going to be as effective as two doses.”

The second-term Democratic senator also touted the American Rescue Plan’s stimulus payments, which would send $1,400-perperson checks to households across the country. Those would “put money into people’s pockets, and they’re going into retail stores to buy stuff,” Blumenthal said.

In a sign that the $600 checks included in the $900 billion COVID-19 relief legislation passed last December have bolstered customer confidence, U.S. consumer spending grew by 2.4 percent in January — the largest increase in seven months.

At the same time, other types of service providers are also struggling.

“We were one of the groups that was really hit hard and continues to be hit hard,” said David Humphrey, CEO of a Connecticutbased company that owns 32 Planet Fitness gyms, with more than 400 employees in Connecticut. “Obviously, people have been reluctant to come back to gyms. We’re doing much better now, but January, which is normally a big month for us in the gym industry, was an OK month for us this year. We’re still kind of clinging to life support.”

Humphrey asked whether Blumenthal would support Senate legislation that would accompany a House of Representatives gymrelief bill. Blumenthal said that the “pattern is to incorporate these separate bills (into broader relief packages)… and I can guarantee you I will support it.”

Abby Jewett, the CRMA’s board chairwoman and a regional vice president of external and legislative affairs at AT&T, cited retailers’ growing data-security concerns as they rely more on e-commerce during the pandemic.

“One of the things that we’re seeing is a state-by-state online data-privacy push,” Jewett said. “I think what the retailers would very much appreciate is a holistic federal approach to data privacy. It’s obviously incredibly important for our customers and building trust between retailers and customers.”

Blumenthal, the chairman of a Senate subcommittee on consumer protection, product safety and data security, said he wanted to take action.

“What we need is a federal standard that protects privacy, so that we recognize the data that you submit — and it’s principally on the internet — is your data,” Blumenthal said. “It belongs to you. This information is yours. When it’s shared or sold, you have some consent, some rights over it.”