We’re in the busiest shopping days of the year. But you won’t see a lot of shoppers in the stores and malls—and that’s bad news for the state.
Online retailing grows year by year. Some of the people who run brick and mortar local stores know some people who come in look around, check the prices, then go home and buy from an internet merchant. Most of the time the buyers save money if in no other way than by avoiding sales tax. And that hurts state government’s income that finances services and institutions.
Missouri Retailers Association President David Overfelt says more Missouri businesses than ever have used social media to connect with their customers. But he says it’s the outside internet retailers who need special attention from the legislature.
Overfelt hopes people who have bought items from outside-the-state internet companies understand return and restocking policies of those companies. He says some of those companies do well financially because of their high return fees.