Econoday Report: Redbook October 6, 2009

Redbook

Released on 10/6/2009 8:55:00 AM For wk10/3, 2009

	Prior	Actual
Store Sales Y/Y change	-2.2 %	-1.9 %

Highlights
Redbook reports strength in store sales with its same-store tally pointing to a 0.4 percent month-to-month rise in September. This call points to a gain for the ex-auto ex-gas category of next week's retail sales report from the Commerce Department, a gain that would offset what seems certain to be a steep overall decline tied to the end of cash-for-clunkers. Redbook's specific tally for the Oct. 3 week shows a 1.9 percent year-on-year decline, the best reading since early summer when the removal of Wal-Mart from Redbook's sample corresponded with a steep move lower in the report's readings.

Definition
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