As Summer Peaks – Sales Heat Up.

Consumers finally shook off their summertime blues by loosening their purse strings in July, according to the NRF Retail Executive Opinion Survey. Although traffic remained below normal (46.9), sales took a giant step forward, increasing 6.4 points from June to 53.1. The overall retail picture looks strong as the Retail Sector Performance Index (RSPI) remained above normal at 54.9, an increase of 2.4 points from the previous month’s reading of 52.5. (The RSPI measures retail executives’ evaluations of monthly sales, customer traffic, the average transaction per customer, employment, inventories and a six-month-ahead sales outlook expectation. The RSPI is based on a scale of 0.0-100.0 with 50.0 equaling normal.)

“Early back-to-school promotions appear to be paying off for retailers,” said NRF president and CEO Tracy Mullin. “We will be monitoring fall apparel sales very closely as they tend to be a good indicator for what to expect during the holiday season.”

Sales weren’t the only category to spike in July as retail operations remained strong as well. The Operations Index, which measures employment and inventories, rose to an above-normal reading of 53.1, from last month’s reading of 50.9.

Retailers continue to look ahead with a great deal of confidence as the Demand Outlook, a six-month ahead sales outlook, rose for the fourth consecutive month to a reading of 59.4, up slightly from June’s reading of 58.3.

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For more information at http://www.nrf.com