Same-Store Retail Sales Pick Up Speed

Same store sales picked up speed and were up 0.8 percent in the September 3 week compared to the same week last year, the largest year-on-year sales gain since July 9. For the full month, store sales in Redbook's sample were also up 0.8 percent year-on-year, and while they were still down 0.1 percent from the previous month, this was the strongest showing since the end of May. The modest pickup registered in sales over the last two weeks is a welcome rebound from the doldrums of mid-August, when sales growth slowed to the most sluggish pace of the recovery.