Global| Nov 30 2010Chain Store Sales Finish Month On Firm Note During Holiday Week
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
This holiday season began with a firm gain in consumer spending. Last week, chain store sales increased 0.5% to recover after the prior week's 0.6% decline. Adding to earlier strength, the rise lifted sales for the month 1.2% above [...]
This holiday season began with a firm gain in consumer spending. Last week, chain store sales
increased 0.5% to recover after the prior week's 0.6% decline. Adding to earlier
strength, the rise lifted sales for the month 1.2% above October and it recovered
much of the decline during the prior three months. During the last ten years there has been a
66% correlation between
the y/y change in chain store sales and the change in retail sales at general
merchandise stores. That correlation recently has increased. General merchandise
store sales account for 15% of total retail sales.
The ICSC-Goldman Sachs retail chain-store sales index is constructed using the same-store sales (stores open for one year) reported by 78 stores of seven retailers: Dayton Hudson, Federated, Kmart, May, J.C. Penney, Sears and Wal-Mart. During the last ten years there has been a 69% correlation between the year-to-year growth in chain store sales and the growth in general merchandise retail sales. The weekly figures are available in Haver's SURVEYW database.
The leading indicator of chain store sales increased 0.8% last week after declines during five of the six prior weeks. The increase left the index level 2.8% above the January low. The composite leading economic indicator is compiled from four series: (1) the MBA's volume index of mortgage applications for home purchase (2) the ABC News/Money magazine's survey of consumer buying conditions (3) new filings for jobless benefits and (4) the 30-year government bond yield.
Monetary Policy, Labor Markets, and Uncertainty from the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis can be found here.
| ICSC-UBS (SA, 1977=100) | 11/27/10 | 11/20/10 | 11/13/10 | Y/Y | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Weekly Chain Store Sales | 506.6 | 503.9 | 507.0 | 3.5% | 0.1% | 1.4% | 2.8% |
Tom Moeller
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Prior to joining Haver Analytics in 2000, Mr. Moeller worked as the Economist at Chancellor Capital Management from 1985 to 1999. There, he developed comprehensive economic forecasts and interpreted economic data for equity and fixed income portfolio managers. Also at Chancellor, Mr. Moeller worked as an equity analyst and was responsible for researching and rating companies in the economically sensitive automobile and housing industries for investment in Chancellor’s equity portfolio. Prior to joining Chancellor, Mr. Moeller was an Economist at Citibank from 1979 to 1984. He also analyzed pricing behavior in the metals industry for the Council on Wage and Price Stability in Washington, D.C. In 1999, Mr. Moeller received the award for most accurate forecast from the Forecasters' Club of New York. From 1990 to 1992 he was President of the New York Association for Business Economists. Mr. Moeller earned an M.B.A. in Finance from Fordham University, where he graduated in 1987. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from George Washington University.
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