NEW YORK – U.S. retail sales at discount, chain and department stores fell during the first four retail weeks of June as sales slowed at both department and discount stores, Instinet Research reported in its weekly Redbook Retail Sales Average on Tuesday.
The Redbook Average fell 1.3 percent during the four retail weeks of June, compared with a target 1.2 percent decline, Redbook said.
On a year-over-year basis, sales rose 1.4 percent during the first four retail weeks of June, compared with a target gain of 1.5 percent.
With one week left in the fiscal month of June, many retailers said they were close to matching sales targets for the month. However, department stores continued to suffer more than discount stores, which beat their sales targets for a second week.
In recent months, discount stores have fared better than department stores during the economic slowdown as customers have shopped for value.
Home furnishings, women's clothing, swimwear, footwear and health and beauty products all sold well in the latest week, Redbook said.
Some retailers said there were large increases in food sales, but others said sales of sporting goods and lawn and garden equipment were lagging. Regionally, sales were strongest in the Southeast.
The Redbook Retail Sales Average is a sales-weighted average of annual growth in the same-store sales at discount, department and chain stores which report their results on a weekly basis. The average is compiled from a sample of general merchandise retailers representing about 9,000 stores. Same store sales measure revenues from stores open at least a year.
The Redbook Average is released weekly by Instinet Research, a division of Instinet, an electronic brokerage owned by Reuters.
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