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 followed ICSC-UBS this morning with a very strong reading on retail sales for the Oct. 29 week. Year-on-year sales were up 4.5% in the week, up 9 tenths from last week and compared with a 4.4% rate for ICSC-UBS.

Cooler weather through most of the country has helped move seasonal goods, which had backed up on shelves following weeks of unusual warmth. Lower gas prices may also be helping.

The readings defy weak consumer sentiment surveys and point to solid though still moderate growth for non-auto retail sales in the month. Vehicle makers will report their results later today with chain stores out on Thursday, filling out the outlook for retail sales data a week from Friday.

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