The company’s data shows snowstorms across the Midwest, South and East slowed spending early last week, only to improve later as consumers dug out to take advantage of Valentine’s and President’s Day promotional items. Despite continued inclement weather in parts of the county early this week, ShopperTrak expects week-over-week GAFO retail sales gains to continue as both holidays fall during the current seven-day period ending Feb. 20.  

 “After analyzing our historical data we’ve determined during the Valentine’s Day blizzard in the Northeast in 2007 shoppers actually visited various retail locations just after the holiday when they were able to safely leave their homes,” said Bill Martin, co-founder of ShopperTrak. “And in 2007 – just like last week – we saw a large weekend spend which helped push weekly retail sales into the black.” Martin continued: “So it seems although Mother Nature was unkind, when provided with holiday promotions and a reason to spend the U.S. consumer has proved very resilient.”  

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's proprietary industry intelligence on shopper movement and sales statistics. This gives retailers, investors and policy makers the most accurate and timely information on consumer trends available today.

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.