Posted on 12/30/2003 8:38:53 AM PST by Starwind
US chain store sales show late Xmas lift - Redbook
Tuesday December 30, 8:56 am ET
NEW YORK, Dec 30 (Reuters) - U.S. chain store sales picked up markedly last week as shoppers went bargain-hunting, though it was not enough to rescue the month as a whole for retailers, Instinet Research said in its Redbook report on Tuesday.
The pace of sales at major retailers grew by 3.9 percent on a year-over-year basis for the week ended Dec. 27, accelerating from a 2.9 percent pace the preceding week, the report said. Still, sales so far in December were down 1.0 percent when compared to November.
The report noted the good cheer was spread unevenly, with some retailers enjoying stellar gains while others lagged. Shoppers concentrated on gift and holiday categories, including toys, electronics, jewelry and food.
Gift-cards were more popular than ever with millions of recipients rushing to the stores in the day after Christmas.
The Redbook data are compiled from a sample of same-store sales at general merchandise retailers representing about 9,000 stores. Same-store sales measure revenue at stores open at least one year. The index is released weekly by Instinet Research, a division of Instinet, a Reuters-owned electronic brokerage.
http://biz.yahoo.com/rm/031230/economy_retail_sales_1.html
Tuesday December 30, 7:50 am ET
NEW YORK, Dec 30 (Reuters) - U.S. chain store sales jumped in the run-up to Christmas as a last-minute surge in bargain hunting set retailers up for the best seasonal performance since 1999, a report said on Tuesday.
Sales climbed 2.0 percent in the week ended Dec. 27, up from a 0.6 percent gain the week before, the International Council of Shopping Centers and UBS said in its joint report.
Compared with the previous year, sales for the week rose 5.5 percent, only slightly down from the previous week's 5.7 percent. Sales in the latest week exceeded their prior five-year median comparison and ICSC now expects sales for all of December to grow between 4.0 percent and 4.5 percent.
The ICSC noted some mall managers reported strong gift certificate redemption which clearly added to sales growth in the period.
The ICSC-UBS Weekly Chain Store Sales Snapshot is compiled from a group of major discount, department and chain stores across the country that report their weekly results. The index measures sales growth with the year 1977 equaling 100.
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