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 12/18/07 For wk 12/15 2007 | ||||||||
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Highlights
Redbook reports important weakness in U.S. chain store sales. Redbook's tally shows a disappointing 1.3 percent year-on-year pace for its same-store sales tally. This is the lowest rate since July. Redbook has been showing weakness for three straight weeks, mostly in line with ICSC-UBS which has been showing weakness for the last two. Redbook pointed to icy weather for the latest week's trouble. The report noted that online shopping and gift-card shopping should give a lift to the current week.
The holiday shopping season got off to a good start based on November's retail trade data, but indications from weekly chain-store reports so far in December are soft. Retailers themselves have been quiet on results, though discount chain Target is scheduled to issue a statement on Dec. 24.
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