ShopperTrak Reports Retail Sales Rise 2.0 Percent for the Month of January
Total U.S. Foot Traffic Flat.
CHICAGO, IL, February 10, 2010 – ShopperTrak RCT Corporation’s National Retail Sales Estimate (NRSE) today reported that total GAFO retail sales for the month of January increased 2.0 percent while the company’s Retail Traffic Index (SRTI) reported total U.S. foot traffic was flat for the same period as compared to last year.
Momentum from the holiday spending rush in late December continued to influence both sales and traffic in early January as consumers took advantage of the 2010 calendar shift that allowed some extra shopping time between Christmas and New Year’s to spend. According to ShopperTrak, gift card redemptions and post-holiday sales and promotions also boosted sales and traffic throughout the first half of January. Comparatively:
GAFO Retail Sales Total U.S. Foot Traffic
January ’09 vs. ’08: - 0.8 percent - 9.2 percent
January ’08 vs. ’07: + 2.0 percent + 3.8 percent
“It seems the inclement weather during the weekend leading up to Christmas ultimately helped extend the season as retailers were still seeing strong shopping patterns in late December and throughout the first several days of January ,” said Bill Martin, co-founder of ShopperTrak. “Although positive performance is typically the norm in early January as gift cards have effectively lengthened the holiday shopping season, our data shows pent up demand and a willingness to spend continued beyond gift card redemptions early in the month.” Martin continued: “While this is a relatively encouraging start to 2010, retail performance will most likely remain slow to average until May when Mother’s Day shopping kicks in and retailers prepare for back to school and the 2010 holiday shopping season.”
On a weekly level, ShopperTrak’s NRSE reported sales for the week ending February 6 increased 1.3 percent as compared to last year, while weekly sales rose 4.0 percent versus the previous seven-day period ending January 30.
Developed by ShopperTrak, the NRSE provides a nationwide benchmark of retail sales. It is derived from the U.S. Commerce Department's GAFO (general
merchandise, apparel, furniture, sporting goods, electronics, hobby, books and other related store sales) statistic, as well as ShopperTrak proprietary industry intelligence on shopper movement and sales statistics.
The ShopperTrak Retail Traffic Index™ measures traffic across five separate retail segments including total U.S. retailing. Available as a database or in newsletter format, SRTI reports national and regional traffic trends in a rolling 16 month trend line.
A privately held entity, ShopperTrak leverages 20 years of retail expertise to be the industry's authority for information and analysis of the movement of shoppers in retail environments. ShopperTrak's cutting-edge shopper tracking products and indices offer retail intelligence solutions that enable companies to better understand retail trends and the impact of store and staff performance on company revenues. With more than 50,000 units installed in the world's best known retail outlets and malls, the company's solutions also provide a proven means for retailers to gauge labor efficiencies, advertising and marketing efforts, store design and remodeling programs, merchandise changes, associate training programs, and other budget-intensive strategic initiatives. For more information visit http://www.shoppertrak.com.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The data contained within this news release is the property of ShopperTrak RCT Corporation and may be reprinted, published or broadcast, provided proper credit is given to the National Retail Sales Estimate (NRSE), the ShopperTrak Retail Traffic Index and ShopperTrak RCT Corporation as the supplier of the information. Please contact Aaron Martin at 312-943-9100 if you have any questions concerning the use of this data.
