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 8/26/08 For wk 8/23 2008 | ||||||||
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Highlights
Chain store sales improved slightly in the Aug. 23 week, at a soft 1.9 percent year-on-year pace for same-store sales vs. an unusually soft 1.3 percent in the prior week. Redbook said back-to-school sales of laptops and cell phones were strong, more than offsetting soft sales of back-to-school apparel. The report said consumers in general continue to focus on basic goods and it noted that tropical storm Fay disrupted business in Florida.
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