ShopperTrak reports retail foot traffic drop for February

CHICAGO — ShopperTrak RCT Corporation's Retail Traffic Index (SRTI) today reported that total U.S. foot traffic for the month of February fell a sharp 9.3 percent while the company's National Retail Sales Estimate reported retail sales slipped 1.5 percent for the same period.

SRTI and NRSE traffic and sales levels continued to slide as consumer confidence continues to wane in the current economy. But while February performance was poor, both Valentine's and President's Day provided a slight weekly boost which helped monthly performance as compared to January. ShopperTrak's SRTI and NRSE reported 12.9 and 3.8 percent traffic and sales declines respectively in January.

"Unfortunately it seems we're reporting a very similar story each month, which is the American consumer simply doesn't have the confidence or disposal income to spend in retail right now and our numbers support that," said Bill Martin, co-founder of ShopperTrak. "Although there were certain events in February that provided a lift, sales and traffic remained slow as compared to last year and this trend could continue early in Q2 even with help from Easter spending."

On a weekly level, ShopperTrak's NRSE reported sales for the week ending March 7 fell 1.0 percent as compared to last year, while weekly sales increased 12.6 percent versus the previous seven-day period ending February 28.

Developed by ShopperTrak, the NRSE provides a nationwide benchmark of retail sales. It is derived from the U.S. Commerce Department's GAFO (general merchandise, apparel, furniture, sporting goods, electronics, hobby, books and other related store sales) statistic, as well as ShopperTrak proprietary industry intelligence on shopper movement and sales statistics.

The ShopperTrak Retail Traffic Index measures traffic across five separate retail segments including total U.S. retailing. Available as a database or in newsletter format, SRTI reports national and regional traffic trends in a rolling 16 month trend line.