Snowstorms that shut in East Coast shoppers last month also chilled sales at women’s clothing stores but most retail sectors saw gains last month compared with a year earlier, data released yesterday show.
The latest numbers from MasterCard Advisors’ SpendingPulse show footwear, men’s clothing, consumer electronics and luxury sales all rose, as did online sales.
The figures, which track transactions in all forms, really just signal stabilization, however, analysts said, because sales were abysmal and consumer confidence had hit an all-time low in February last year.
PHOTO: REUTERS
“The disruptive weather did impact things,” said Michael McNamara, vice president of research and analysis for SpendingPulse.
But spending overall remains tepid amid high unemployment and tight credit, he said.
Clothing sales fell 1.8 percent on top of an 11.8 percent drop last month last year. Women’s clothing sales fell 1.6 percent last month, while sales of men’s clothing rose 5.7 percent and footwear rose 2.2 percent.
Showing the most improvement for Jan. 31 to Saturday, compared with a year earlier, were: Consumer electronics, which rose 5.8 percent for a sixth monthly increase.
Luxury sales, excluding jewelry, which increased 15.2 percent, following gains of 8.1 percent in January and 5.5 percent in December.
Online sales rose 16.7 percent, althought the average transaction shrank 3.7 percent.
The figures came a day before retailers report on their sales at stores open at least a year. Analysts predict chains saw the figure grow modestly for the third straight month. The sales comparison is considered a key indicator for retailers because it excludes sales at stores that open or close during the year.
Ken Perkins, president of RetailMetrics market research firm, said that last month customer “traffic was good in between the snow storms” and shoppers appeared to buy regular-price spring fashions despite the snow, an encouraging sign for the economy.
“Retailers seem not to have needed extreme discounting to drive traffic to their stores,” McNamara said.
The real test will come later when monthly figures are being compared with last spring, summer and fall’s spending patterns. February — sandwiched between post-holiday clearance and spring — is the second-least important month of the year for retailers after January.
Analysts see combined data for March and April as a more accurate measure of consumer behavior.
“The impacts from nature and the light volume of February sales make it difficult to read too much into [last month’s] performance,” said Michael Niemira, chief economist at the International Council of Shopping Centers.
He said his group’s index of sales at stores open at least a year would probably show a 2 percent rise for last month when it is released today.
The index gained 3 percent in January and 3.6 percent in December. In February last year, it fell 4.3 percent. The index includes about 30 chain retailers but not WalMart Stores Inc.
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