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Redbook: US Retail Sales -1.6% First Four Weeks Aug Vs July

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--National chain store sales fell 1.6% in the first four weeks of August versus the previous month, according to Redbook Research's latest indicator of national retail sales released Wednesday.

The drop in the index compared with a targeted 1.8% decline.

The Johnson Redbook Index also showed seasonally adjusted sales in the period rose 1.7% compared with August 2007, relative to a targeted 1.6% gain.

Redbook said that on an unadjusted basis, sales in the week ended Aug. 30 were up 2.3% from the same week in 2007.

Last minute back-to-school shopping and bargain hunting boosted sales for the week, Redbook said, with retailers reporting strength in categories such as school supplies and children's apparel.

Also, in anticipation of Hurricane Gustav, customers "made a run on food, water, batteries and other emergency supplies, ramping up business at stores which stock those supplies," Redbook said. Discount stores were the main beneficiaries.

Elsewhere, discount stores also registered strong food sales ahead of the Labor Day weekend, said Redbook.

Looking forward, their preliminary target for September - a five-week month ending on Oct. 4 - is a month-to-month decline of 1.5%. That target will be finalized in next week's report.

-By Deborah Lynn Blumberg, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-2018; deborah.blumberg@dowjones.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 03, 2008 08:55 ET (12:55 GMT)


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