RetailSails

Unseasonably warm weather helped foot traffic and started shoppers thinking about spring merchandise this past week, while Super Bowl Sunday drew fans to buy tv’s, snack food and team apparel. Consumers and retailers alike will now turn their attention to Valentine’s Day, which is expected to generate over $17 billion in sales.


▪ The International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) reported that chain store sales rose 1.8% from the prior week and increased 3.5% over the prior-year period during the week ending Feb 4th. On a year‐over‐year basis, mild weather in the past week compared with a Groundhog Day snowstorm in 2011 helped the year over comparisons in some regions. But absolutely and relative to last year, the ICSC‐GS consumer tracking survey found that consumer shopping was strong. This was especially true at wholesale clubs, but there were impressive gains also recorded at dollar stores, apparel stores, department stores, discounters and even furniture stores. “This past week consumers warmed up to spring-related merchandise as warm weather helped to drive weekly sales,” said Michael Niemira, ICSC vice president of research and chief economist. “In addition, consumers stocked up on consumables prior to Super Bowl Sunday which helped drive sales across many store categories,” added Niemira. According to Weather Trends International (WTI), the national average temperature over the past week ending Saturday was an incredibly large 12.9°F warmer than last year and a hefty 9.0°F warmer than its long‐term average.

▪ Redbook Research said that same-store sales increased 2.5% for the first week of February following a 2.0% gain in the prior week. For the week, sales rose 1.2% relative to January. “Most stores were tracking on or slightly below their monthly targets as the period ended. Like January, February is generally regarded as a transitional month, combining final clearance of winter merchandise with early introduction of spring goods.” said Catlin Levis, Redbook analyst. “Some retailers continue to clear pockets of winter goods at marked down prices, although this represented a less significant portion of their business. In addition, Super Bowl Sunday drew sales of big screen televisions, snack food, beverages, team apparel and other related merchandise leading up to the event.” she added.

▪ ShopperTrak hasn’t reported weekly sales since late December, but said holiday shopping was characterized by higher sales with fewer in-store shoppers: “Our shopper-counts from 25,000 locations in the U.S. indicate shoppers were more targeted in their holiday shopping than in years past,” added Martin. “Many pre-shopped for gifts online and then went to stores with in-stock merchandise priced at the best values to make purchases.”