Same Store Retail Sales Decelerate

Same store sales were up 5.7 percent year-on-year in the September 29 week, decelerating marginally by 0.1 percentage points from the prior week and ending the quarter 0.6 percentage points short of the 13-year high set at the start of the month. But Month-to-date sales versus the prior month remained up 0.3 percent and the full month year-on-year gain was still up a robust 5.8 percent. Redbook's same store sales finished the quarter impressively by logging the strongest year-on-year gains in over a decade, pointing to mounting strength in ex-auto ex-gas retail sales.