ShopperTrak Reports Retail Sales Rise

Chicago ShopperTrak RCT Corp. reported Tuesday that year-over-year retail sales for the week ending Sept. 13 were up 5.0%, while week-over-week sales fell 8.4% as compared to the previous week ending Sept. 6.

ShopperTrak cited typical post-Labor Day sales dips in combination with the arrival of Hurricane Ike as reasons for the sharp week-over-week drop in sales (the biggest drop since an 8.4% drop in May). On a year-over-year basis, the report showed that retail sales fared much better (+5.0% as compared to 2007) as consumers may have shopped early in the week in preparation for Ike’s arrival, a shopping event which did not occur during the same week last year.