Same Store Retail Sales Continue Robust Pace

Same store sales were up 5.0 percent year-on-year in the December 30 week, pulling back 0.7 percentage points from the prior week's pace, the strongest since July 2014. Month-to-date sales versus the prior month edged further into positive territory to a 0.3 percent gain after the prior week's marginal gain broke a streak of 11 weekly negative readings, while the gain in full month year-on-year sales rose 0.2 percentage points to 4.3 percent, just shy of early September's peak growth for the year. The impressive year-on-year sales growth reported by retailers in Redbook's same-store sample in the final weeks of the year points to robust ex-auto ex-gas retail sales results for December.