Back-To-School Raises Sales – Not RSPI.

While rising temperatures and back-to-school shopping brought consumers out of the sun and into the stores, the retail sector saw mixed results in August, according to the NRF Retail Executive Opinion Survey. Despite increased traffic (50.0), strong sales (56.3) and a jump in the average transaction per customer (59.4), the Retail Sector Performance Index dipped slightly in August, down 1.6 points to 53.3 from the previous month’s reading. (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.)

“Retailers remain very confident in their short-term outlook,” said NRF President and CEO Tracy Mullin. “Back-to-school shopping and end of summer sales had more consumers opening their wallets, yet retailers remain cautious about the impact of long-term economic indicators, such as gas prices and interest rates.”

While the many promotions and end of season sales were good news for customers, retailers saw a significant decrease in the pricing index, which dropped 12.9 points to 21.9 last month. Much of this dip was a reflection of heavily discounted merchandise and promotions during the back-to-school season.

Retailers are looking ahead to next spring with mixed confidence, as the Demand Outlook, a six-month ahead sales outlook, dropped to 50.0, down 9.4 points from the previous month.

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