Same Store Retail Sales Soften

Holiday sales softened in the December 12 week based on Redbook's sample which shows a same-store year-on-year plus 1.5 percent pace vs 1.9 percent in the prior week. The report notes that mid-December is usually a soft period for shopping which will pick up sharply closer to Christmas. The report also notes that some retailers, hurt by the nation's unusually warm weather, are cutting prices of winter goods.