Watch all 5 videos, post what you love about retail in Minnesota with #loveMNretail and be eligible to win a $50 gift card! See the end of this article for details.

Mention Minnesota to anyone and they will likely think about our beautiful lakes, our vibrant retail scene - from quaint downtown stores to the iconic Mall of America - and the idea that everyone you meet is "Minnesota Nice." Each of those are actually accurate when it comes to Minnesota, but there is so much more.

Minnesota is proud to have recently hosted NRF's Retail Across America road trip as we traveled the state to show off the innovative and unique nature of retail.

From Red Wing to Duluth, we visited some of the nation's most recognized brands - like Best Buy, Target, Duluth Pack and Mall of America - and some of our beloved local favorites including the Uffda Shop, Grand Jete dance store, Tin Whiskers Brewing Company and 36Lyn refuel station. And we made a few stops at regional retailers like playful Creative Kidstuff and small-town stalwart Thrifty White Pharmacy. Minnesota truly has as many retail innovators as we do lakes!

At each stop, the NRF crew got a good taste of Minnesota Nice. While we take a little ribbing for the term, Minnesota Nice is really core to how retailers in Minnesota treat customers and interact in their communities. You see it in community support, how employers and employees work together to solve problems and in the way we create experiences for customers.

Minnesota's diverse retail community supports one in five jobs across the state - an opportunity to impact more than 780,000 people in each and every city. That's 70,000 retailers coming together to add $46 billion to the economy.

A special thank you to our friends at the National Retail Federation for their investment in this video series. We loved showing you Minnesota!

Video 1: Retail In Minnesota Is Connected!

Video 2: It's True, There Really I A Minnesota Nice

Video 3: Small Businesses: More Than A Place To Shop

Video 4: Handcrafted And Only In Minnesota

Video 5: Minnesota Innovation: Retail Tech In Real Time

Want to be eligible to win a $50 gift card?

Watch the five videos then share your favorite moments or stories about retailers you love in Minnesota on social media with the hashtag #loveMNretail to be placed our drawing for a $50 gift card giveaway! Gift card giveaway cut-off March 4 at noon. Must use #loveMNretail to be entered in to the drawing. Gift card can be from any Minnesota Retailers Associationon member--winners choice! Family and friends eligible. 

 

Minnesota's retailers are optimistic about shopper spending this holiday season following a Thanksgiving weekend that mostly met or exceeded sales expectations.  The Minnesota Retailers Association solicited feedback from retailers around the state through an informal, non-scientific survey last week.

In that survey, 50 percent of respondents expect this holiday season to be better than last year, with the balance generally anticipating this season to be about the same as 2013. Those responses correlate with 44 percent of retailers reporting stronger than expected sales, foot traffic as anticipated, and slightly elevated online visits for the Thanksgiving weekend.

What might be fueling consumer spending this holiday season? Several retailers cited low gasoline prices as a factor in boosting the potential that consumers will spend more this year.  Other factors mentioned include timely Winter weather to get consumers a gift-giving mood.

This past weekend, Best Buy President and CEO Hubert Joly had a unique opportunity to address the nation's governors at the National Governors Associations summer meeting. Joly's talk focused on how today's retailers are integrating the in-store and online customer experience, and the need for marketplace fairness.

Joly said that today's trends do not forecast the death of mainstreet retailers, rather retailers with a multi-channel approach to sales are poised for success. In addition, Joly shared his retail recipe for retail success: focus on advice, service, and convenience. For Best Buy, this has meant refocusing on providing an amazing customer experience, leveraging unique assets, building capability while innovating, and experimenting with strategies.

Joly thanked the National Governors Association for its leadership on online sales tax fairness, and asked each state to continue that push, saying if we want help create 1.5 million new U.S. jobs and combat the closure of 5,000 stores last year, marketplace fairness is needed now.  Government shouldn't pick winners and losers, he told the governors, adding "I think it's an issue that can be solved and must be solved this year."

Click here to watch Hubert Joly's speech.