City Staff Will Tell Economic Development and Technology Committee That Pasadena Retail Sales are Flat

The City of Pasadena’s Economic Development Division will report Tuesday on the possible reasons why overall retail sales have been flat in the City, during a special meeting of the City Council’s Economic Development and Technology Committee.

In a memo to the ED Tech Committee, Economic Development Manager Eric Duyshart said staff will be presenting updated Consumer Psychographic Data and Retail Information during the meeting, as an information item on the agenda.

Duyshart said the report was prepared in coordination with the Buxton Company, a consumer analytics contractor, and is based mostly on data collected by Experian Inc. The psychographic information identifies shopping and lifestyle patterns of the local Pasadena consumer.

“Staff shares this information with local brokers, business improvement districts, property owners and retailers seeking to expand,” Duyshart said in the memo. “In addition, Economic Development staff can use Buxton software to general ‘retail leakage’ reports that helps identify when consumers are spending more for products outside of a defined geographical area.”

At the ED Tech Committee meeting, staff may also present how the volume increase in online sales among Pasadena consumers puts more pressure on the effort to improve the consumer experience associated with “brick and mortar store” visits.

The Economic Development Division, under the office of the City Manager, maintains a summary of the primary commercial areas in the city and retail sales data in those areas, and provides analysis to property owners to help them recruit tenants, and retail outlets to help them improve sales.

The ED Tech Committee’s special meeting begins at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, January 17 at Council Chambers at City Hall.