JACKSON - As strong auto sales boosted retail sales nationwide in March from February, the southeast's economy remained soft.
Mall executives in Mississippi are hoping for a calmer, more prosperous April after March sales were dampened by a late Easter, the war in Iraq, record gas prices and rainstorms.
U.S. retail sales rose 2.1 percent in March, the Commerce Department said. Those gains weren't found in the southeast, according to the Federal Reserve.
Some Mississippi malls fared better than others - reflecting the differences in their local economies and even in how their residents reacted to higher gas prices.
Edgewood Mall in McComb, for instance, reported March sales rose 2-3 percent over last year. Mall co-owner, Don Haskins, said he's not sure why.
"But it may be that the higher gas prices kept people from going to Jackson or to Baton Rouge to shop," said Haskins, whose mall is more a local draw that traditionally competes with regional malls in larger cities.
By contrast, the manager of the Mall at Barnes Crossing in Tupelo - the only so-called super regional mall between Memphis and Birmingham and Jackson - said higher fuel prices cause his customers to curtail shopping trips. Mall manager Jeff Snyder also blamed a later Easter for a slight drop in March sales.
But Snyder said April has started strong and he expects 2-3 percent sales increase over April 2002.
Nationally, consumer confidence jumped in mid-April, and national retail chain sales were up more than 4 percent by the second week as gas prices stabilized and the war wound down. But the economy is growing at a sluggish pace.
Snyder, however, said he's optimistic because "Tupelo seems less affected by an economic downturn because here in Lee County, the local economy has been strong."
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
