Same Store Retail Sales Sluggish

Redbook's sample same-store sales in the April 2 week were up a soft 0.6 percent year-on-year following the prior week's stronger 1.5 percent gain. Same-store sales for the month of March were up 0.8 percent compared to March of last year, below the Johnson Redbook target estimate of a 1.1 percent gain. The report notes that the sluggish results for the week reflect seasonal softness after Easter week sales and difficult comparisons with last year due to this year's early Easter (March 27 versus April 5). Compared month-to-month, March stores sales through the April 2 week were up 3.1% from February.