Founding Principal & Managing Director, Craig Robson

In this day and age, it is hard to imagine a world where you can’t simply look up the score of a game or the outcome of a movie. I remember when I first watched one of my favorite movies as a kid, The Empire Strikes Back, in the original Star Wars Trilogy. I was so surprised by the climax of the movie; I didn’t see it coming! And just like I didn’t see the end of the movie coming, I also didn’t see how the consumer is now striking back.

Earlier this month, the US Commerce Department released the retail sales number for September, which reflected a 1.9% increase over the previous month. This was the fifth consecutive month retail sales increased.1 It’s also worth mentioning, the National Association of Realtors announced that existing home sales grew at 9.4% in September, to the highest level since 2006.2

This shows the consumer is willing to spend, despite the challenges we’re experiencing with the pandemic. While the consumer was definitely feeling the initial effects of COVID-19 in March and April, that same consumer might just continue to surprise the experts this year.

As we get closer to Halloween, I keep hearing of people or organizations changing/canceling activities and events. From a health and safety perspective, I totally understand the tough decisions that are being made. Yet, I am saddened that COVID-19 continues to change many of our traditional pastimes, holiday plans, and daily routines.

It made me ask myself, what is the first activity I plan to take up once a vaccine is released? While there are many to choose from, I look forward to rescheduling my family’s planned trip to visit Normandy, France, which we unfortunately passed on earlier this summer. I am curious, what are the first things you will do, which are currently on hold?

• As I have already admitted my appreciation for the original Star Wars Trilogy, I’d like to close with a quote from Jedi Master Yoda, “Difficult to see. Always in motion is the future.” Craig Robson Founding Principal and Managing Director 1 Harriet Torry, “U.S. Retail Spending Picked Up Strongly in September,” The Wall Street Journal, October 16, 2020,

• Craig Robson
• Founding Principal and Managing Director