Econoday Report: Redbook 1, 2005

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2005 U.S. Economic Events & Analysis

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Redbook

Definition
A weekly measure of sales at chain stores, discounters, and department stores. It is a less consistent indicator of retail sales than the weekly ICSC index. It is also calculated differently than other indicators. For instance, figures for the first week of the month are compared with the average for the entire previous month. When two weeks are available, then these are compared with the average for the previous month, and so on. It might be more useful to compare year-over-year figures since these are indeed compared to the comparable week a year ago. This index is correlated with the general merchandise portion of retail sales covering only about 10 percent of total retail sales. Why Investors Care

Highlights
Redbook, like ICSC-UBS, reported soft same-store sales growth in the May 28 week, up only 2.9% year-on-year compared with 3.4% in the prior week. Redbook pegged full month growth for May at a moderate 3.2%.

Yesterday's Conference Board consumer confidence report showed a solid uptick, suggesting that gas prices are fading in importance and that consumers are less anxious about the jobs market.

Whether May proves moderate or not, the outlook for retail sales in the coming months is positive. Chain-store sales will be reported tomorrow.

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