Redbook: US Retail Sales -1.2% First 3 Weeks Sept Vs Aug

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--National chain store sales fell 1.2% in the first three weeks of September versus the previous month, according to Redbook Research's latest indicator of national retail sales released Tuesday.

The rise in the index compared with a targeted 1% drop.

The Johnson Redbook Index also showed seasonally adjusted sales in the period rose 1.5% compared with September 2007, relative to a target of a 1.7% gain.

Redbook said that on an unadjusted basis, sales in the week ended Sept. 20 were up 1.2% from the same week in 2007.

"Sales slipped further with difficult economic conditions, exacerbated by the recent hurricanes," Redbook said, adding that tropical storms and hurricanes received their share of blame from the Gulf coast to Michigan and kept shoppers away from nonessential venues and forced stores to close.

In some cases, stores were damaged in the affected areas, Redbook noted. Hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses were without power a week after Hurricane Ike, and some stores were running out of emergency supplies.

Sales performance at discounters was sustained largely by food, household supplies, basic apparel and hardware and cleaning supplies, Redbook said.

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

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 23, 2008 08:55 ET (12:55 GMT)

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