Year-over-year weekly retail sales drop 4.6%

Chicago ShopperTrak reported Tuesday that year-over-year GAFO retail sales declined 4.6% for the week ending Oct. 31, while sales fell 1.2% compared with the previous week ending Oct. 24.

ShopperTrak’s National Retail Sales Estimate revealed that GAFO (general merchandise, apparel, furniture, sporting goods, electronics, hobby, books and other related store sales) retail sales were slower than expected for the week as cool weather in the east and the early-season snow storm in the mountains and upper Midwest negatively impacted consumer spending. 

Additionally, Halloween sales and promotions failed to provide a lift for retailers last week as the year-over-year and weekly comparison’s both showed a decline. 

“If the industry begins to promote for the holiday shopping season on a widespread basis, we expect to see a slight increase in sales moving forward,” “said Bill Martin, co-founder of ShopperTrak. “However, if retailers wait for these promotions, sales will most likely remain sluggish over the next couple of weeks which is a pattern we typically see following Halloween weekend.”