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 9/3/08 For wk 8/30 2008 | ||||||||
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Highlights
Retailer sales remained soft in the Aug. 30 week, at a +2.3 percent year-on-year same-store pace for Redbook's tally that winds up a soft month of August. Redbook emphasized the positive, saying back-to-school sales were solid in the latest week and that sales of emergency supplies along the Gulf Coast were heavy. Chain stores will post their own results tomorrow in announcements that will firm up estimates for the Commerce Department's non-auto non-gasoline category. Vehicle makers will post their August sales through today's session.
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