“I literally get calls weekly from folks wanting to quote us credit-card processing rates,” said George Wilder, owner/president of The Locker Room, a 14-employee, men’s clothing store in Montgomery and Auburn. The Locker Room uses Huntsville-based processor CHECKredi®, the Alabama Retail Association partner that offers group negotiated rates typically reserved…
Alabama retailers want customers with disabilities to be able to move freely within and outside their business. What they don’t want is to be harassed by a lawyer trying to extort huge legal fees from them based on minor or nonexistent…
Retail is the backbone of Alabama communities. In fact, 1 in 4 people in our state work in retail – it’s the largest private-sector employer. Our more than 4,100 members sell food, clothing, furniture, medicine and other general merchandise. As part of our “Alabama…
As 2015 comes to a close and we look ahead to 2016, you should be aware of several state and federal policy changes that could have a bearing on your business: SALES TAX EXEMPTION CERTIFICATION Beginning Jan. 1, the only valid…
On Christmas Day, the entire state of Alabama was placed under a state of emergency related to excessive rainfall and flooding. Alabama experienced record rainfall and record temperatures. Rivers in Alabama that exceeded the flood stage include the Pea, Alabama,…
With less than a week until Christmas, retailers are hoping to see a cold snap to heat up the sales of winter weather apparel. Much of the country has experienced unseasonably warm temperatures in November and December. Retailers, who based…
The clock is ticking for holiday shoppers, making for an extra busy time for retailers and shippers. Standard shipping deadlines will hit in the next week or so, and those who still have gift shopping and shipping left to do…
For the 38 years they owned a business, Dennis and Dianne Wammack’s biggest competitors were out-of-state sellers who weren’t required to collect sales taxes. From the beginning, competition came from New York mail-order sales. Still, it wasn’t until remote Internet…
The Holiday Edition of the Alabama Retail Quarterly should be arriving in your mailbox soon. If yours has yet to arrive, you can read it now online. Inside This Issue: Alabama 2015 holiday sales to near $11 billion Alabama Retail Comp…
Every year small package carriers FedEx and UPS evaluate their shipping rates and make adjustments that can have a substantial effect on you and your business. UPS rate increases will be effective Dec. 28, while the new FedEx rates take…