Year-On-Year Same-Store Retail Sales Sluggish

Redbook's sample is not pointing to any September improvement for core retail sales. Year-on-year same-store sales rose only 0.2 percent in the September 17 week, about in line with August and noticeably lower than July -- two months when the government's ex-auto ex-gas reading posted 0.1 percent monthly declines. Rates in this report don't always match those in actual government data which focuses our attention on trends, and the trend for this report is not favorable.