Same Store Retail Sales Surge

Same store sales were up 5.7 percent year-on-year in the December 23 week, surging by 1.3 percentage points from the prior week to post the strongest year-on-year gain since July 2014. Month-to-date sales versus the prior month moved into positive territory for the first time in 12 weeks with an increase of 0.1 percent, while the gain in full month year-on-year sales rose 0.5 percentage points to 4.1 percent, matching the highest level since September 30. The strong and accelerating sales reported by retailers in Redbook's same-store sample during the course of the key Christmas sales season point to notable strength in ex-auto ex-gas retail sales for December.