NEW YORK – Retail sales were 3.8% better than last year in the first week of December, after a 4.9% gain in the last week of November, according to the Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index.
Month-to-date, sales increased 3.8% from last year.
“Retailers said average transaction tickets were generally ahead of last year,” the report said. “With Hanukkah having begun on Wednesday, retailers saw increases in both traffic and sales during the week. If December follows a typical pattern, as expected, sales are likely to slow down in the next week or two before accelerating into both the pre and post Christmas rush. Most retailers are following NRF 4-5-4 calendar guidelines and will have one additional Christmas shopping day this December versus last year, which is expected to have an appreciably positive impact. Meanwhile, other retailers, mainly from the midwest and northeast regions, also noted that sales were hurt by heavy snowstorms which started on Thursday. Winter storms kept shoppers at home to shop on-line.”
