Holiday Same-Store Sales – Better Than Expected.

Last-minute shoppers helped salvage same-store sales for the month of December. According to the International Mass Retail Association’ s final weekly survey of the 2001 holiday season, the majority of those surveyed (1,000 American consumers) said they completed their shopping the week before December 25 (35%), while 22 percent said they finished on Christmas Eve. December industry chain-store sales remained positive with a 2.3 percent year-over-year comparable-store gain from the same period last year.*

Keep in mind the shift in the reporting calendar: The week after Thanksgiving moved into the fiscal month of November this year, while it was included in the fiscal month of December last year, causing monthly same-store sales comparisons to be misleading.

Examples of IMRA members reporting positive same-store sales in December are: Michaels Stores Inc., 11 percent; Jo-Ann Stores, Inc., 11 percent; Circuit City, Inc., 10 percent; Fred’ s Inc., 9.1 percent; Dollar General Corporation, 8.9 percent; Family Dollar Stores Inc., 8.3 percent; Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 8.2 percent; Best Buy Co., Inc., 6.2 percent; Duckwall-ALCO Stores, Inc., 4.8 percent; and Value City Department Stores, Inc., 3.5 percent.

“As consumers shied away from the malls and cut back on clothing and luxury items, IMRA members continued to see an increase in sales traffic,” said IMRA President Robert J. Verdisco. ” Budget-conscious consumers have learned that mass retailers are where they can find everyday low prices for items like food, cleaning supplies and other necessities.”

For more information at http://www.imra.org