February Same-Store Sales Strongest in More than 2 Years

Published March 4, 2010

Despite unseasonably cold temperatures nation-wide and record snowstorms across the Northeast, retailers managed to post another month of solid same-store sales gains in February. While typically one of the lightest months of the year in terms of volume, and no doubt in large part due to extremely easy comparisons to a year ago, February’s strong performance nonetheless suggests consumer spending is gaining momentum off of depressed levels.

Preliminary results show total sales increased 6.0% from a year ago to $28.9 billion for the 30 retailers we track, while same-store sales were up 3.9% compared to a 3.4% drop in the year-ago period. This is the sixth straight gain after 12 consecutive months of declines, and the best showing since November 2007.

Results were strong across all segments except for Drug Stores, which have been notable laggards as of late. Gains were led by Apparel & Accessories Stores which posted the 2nd consecutive 7.3% comparable sales gain, compared to a 4.4% decrease a year ago. Department Stores saw same-store sales increase 3.4% for the month, after plunging 9.4% last February.

Analysts had expected the weather to put a damper on this month’s results, especially with chains heavily leveraged to the East Coast. Weather Trends International (WTI) reported that temperatures for the month of February were “the coldest in 21 years and [it was the] snowiest in at least 30 years which is a very big negativeâ€