A First: Three Neg-comp Months In A Row

摘要

The Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index fell 2.3% in January, vs. the goal of a 1.8% drop. That negative comp-store mark was the third consecutive negative monthly comp sales measure posted by the Index, which had dropped by 0.9% in November and fell 1.0% in December. Until now, said Redbook analyst Catlin Levis in response to a query by HTT, "We have never had three consecutive months of negative year-over-year change since the Index began in 1964." The final week of January - and the 52nd and final week in most retailers' fiscal year -ended with a disappointing 2.7% comp-store sales dip. Discounters finished the month with a tepid comp gain of 1.9%, but department stores posted an icy 9.8% comp drop. The disparity between the channels has been extreme, as consumers divert less and less of their strained household budgets to discretionary spending.