The Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index was up 3.1% in the second week of January following a 2.9% gain the prior week.
Month-to-date, January was up 3.0% compared to January of last year (relative to a target of a 3.4% gain). Month-over-month showed a 0.2% drop (relative to a target of a 0.2% gain). January is a four-week month on the retail calendar ending on February 1st
Year-end clearance dominated sales activity and soft goods continued to outperform hard goods, with cold weather fueling demand for winter outerwear and accessories.
Discount stores returned to more normal operations following the holiday, driven by food and consumer basics. Department stores are working through year-end clearance of winter inventories with their usual aggressive pricing in order to make room for Valentine's Day and spring merchandise.
At the same time, retailers are not reading too much into January since it is typically a transitional month with low volume business driven by price markdowns.
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