Retailers begin trek back to black

Many Conn. stores are scheduled to reopen Wednesday

As Danbury Fair became the last major mall in western Connecticut to commit to reopening on Wednesday, new sales tax estimates put a number on the significant hit the retail sector absorbed in April at the peak of the coronavirus crisis.

Sales tax collections were off 27 percent from their totals of April 2019, the state Department of Revenue Services reported, a $123 million shortfall.

The numbers are incomplete, with Connecticut having pushed back tax reporting deadlines for retailers with less than $150,000 in annual sales taxes, equating to the taxes on annual sales of roughly $2.4 million.

But any additional amounts may add up to only a small bump when those entities remit their April taxes at the end of this month, given the curbside pickup limitations in April on many retailers defined as “nonessential” after Gov. Ned Lamont’s March 10 declaration of a public emergency.

“Remember, a lot of this is about the demand,” said Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, chair of the University of Pennsylvania’s health policy department, speaking Tuesday afternoon on Lamont’s daily update on coronavirus in Connecticut. “A restaurant can open, but if people aren’t willing to go ... there’s not a lot of economic activity (that’s) going to happen.

“People also have to have the economic wherewithal to go out and shop,” Emanuel added.

“The public is going to get used to this slowly, over time.”

Between mid-March and early this month, the Connecticut Department of Labor processed more than 41,000 initial claims for unemployment benefits from workers in the retail sectors, with the number expected to increase as DOL gets caught up.

Thousands of those workers are back on the job Wednesday at the Connecticut Post, Danbury Fair, SoNo Collection, Stamford Town Center and Westfield Trumbull malls, many of them likely on restricted hours at the outset as malls allow retailers to set their own reopening dates and hours.

All five malls will open their concourses between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m., closing an hour earlier on Sundays.

April retail sales nationally plummeted 21.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, with a sharper decline headed off by booming sales for a few categories like supermarkets and online sellers.

On Tuesday, Walmart reported a 74 percent increase in online sales for the three-month period ending April 30, contributing to a 9 percent increase in overall revenue to $134.6 billion. Walmart announced plans Tuesday to mothball the Jet.com website it acquired in 2016 for $3 billion, citing burgeoning sales on its namesake Walmart.com website.

“First, our associates — they have been flat-out amazing,” said Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, speaking Tuesday on a conference call. “More than ever, I think society sees them and appreciates their service to others, as do I.”

Connecticut shoppers will now get the chance to demonstrate their appreciation for retail stores, big box and Main Street alike.

The May 20 reopening of Connecticut malls and other retailers comes amid continued caution for many to avoid COVID-19 infection, with stores required to limit capacity to 50 percent, enforce the use of face masks, and monitor customers, employees and vendors continuously to ensure six feet of separation.

This week, Lamont reiterated that if shoppers observe any safety violations that are not addressed by store managers, they should report it to the state’s 2-1-1 information line.

Alexander Soule / Hearst Connecticut Media A busy Costco in Brookfield, a day in advance of a reopening of many stores the state had restricted to curbside pickup during the pandemic.