A weekly measure of sales at chain stores, discounters, and department stores. It is a less consistent indicator of retail sales than the weekly ICSC index. It is also calculated differently than other indicators. For instance, figures for the first week of the month are compared with the average for the entire previous month. When two weeks are available, then these are compared with the average for the previous month, and so on. It might be more useful to compare year-over-year figures since these are indeed compared to the comparable week a year ago. This index is correlated with the general merchandise portion of retail sales covering only about 10 percent of total retail sales. Why Investors Care
| Released on 1/23/07 For wk 1/20 2007 | ||||||||
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Highlights
Retail sales were no better than moderate according to Redbook's same-store tally for the Jan. 20 week that showed a 2.8 percent year-on-year pace, up 1 tenth in the week and compared against ICSC-UBS's much stronger 4.8 percent rate. Redbook said cold weather boosted demand for seasonal goods but at the same time depressed traffic.
Indications from the retail sector have been mixed in recent months, with some economic data and company reports pointing to strength and others to weakness. Perhaps the most relevant evidence is found in the Beige Book, the Federal Reserve's survey posted last week that described conditions as "modest."
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