Despite the economy doing better, retailers are still looking for ways to minimize cost

LAS VEGAS - June 24, 2013 - PRLog -- Las Vegas, Nevada,  - Reading the news and watching TV, one would think that the economy is doing well as the Dow Jones is at over 15,000, and the real estate market has been picking up since last year.  Yet Ken Mayland, an economist with ClearView Economics who often speaks with chief financial officers at large U.S. corporations, retailers as well as small businesses, said "Nobody is enthusiastic about hiring and everybody is just sitting on their hands."

In addition to this reluctance in spending, many companies are uncertain of the Obamacare effects next year.   The Forbes article on March 18, 2013 states “The More Businesses Learn About Obamacare, the More Reluctant They Are To Hire,” starting next year, insurance companies will have to remit $8 billion to the federal treasury. The tax increases to $11.3 billion in 2015 and 2016, to $13.9 billion in 2017, and to $14.3 billion thereafter.  Insurance companies will pay based on their share of industry revenues in a given year — the more revenue, the bigger the hit.  This predicted additional expense is not only making businesses reluctant to hire more staff but reluctant to spend overall to expand.  

Due to the uncertainty in the economy, companies, especially the retailers with various locations, are looking to save on any cost that they can, including any ongoing expenses such as utilities, telecommunications, offices, etc.  

Most retailers have been minimizing their recurring costs while also looking for ways to maximize what they have in order to grow in this challenging and unpredictable economy.   One way to minimize the utilities and telecommunications expenses is to do a bill audit.  Amy Cline, with Shopforbandwidth.com, states “through bill audits of their utilities and telecommunications services, retailers can save up to 20% to 30% or more.”  By auditing these services, the retailers and multi-site enterprises can determine what expenses they can save in order to minimize their recurring costs.