ShopperTrak Reports Year-Over-Year Retail Sales Fall for Week Ending February 21

PRLog (Press Release) - Feb 24, 2009 -
CHICAGO – ShopperTrak’s National Retail Sales Estimate™ (NRSE) today reported that retail sales for the week ending February 21 declined 0.5 percent as compared to the same period 2008, while week-over-week sales decreased 4.5 percent versus the previous week ending February 14.

The slight year-over-year GAFO retail sales decline marks the seventh consecutive drop as poor economic conditions continue to influence consumer confidence and retail spending.  Week-over-week sales also posted a decline as President’s Day sales and promotions could not keep pace with Valentine’s Day spending from the previous week.

“Last week we anticipated lower sales levels as annually the period following Valentine’s Day and leading into Easter is slow for retailers,” said Bill Martin, co-founder of ShopperTrak.  “This yearly trend added to poor economic conditions led to the seventh consecutive year-over-year sales decline, a pattern that will most likely continue until Easter.”

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.

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) 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.

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