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 1/15/08 For wk 1/12 2008 | ||||||||
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Highlights
Redbook, like ICSC-UBS earlier this morning, reports weak chain-store sales for the Jan. 12 week, up only 0.9 percent year-on-year. Redbook, like many retailers in last week's chain-store reports, said shoppers are focused on clearance. The data follow weak December sales reported by the Commerce Department at 8:30 a.m. ET. The health of the consumer, facing rising costs, slowing credit, and a slowing labor market, is shaping up to be the economic focus for 2008.
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