Chain Stores' Weakened Sales

Weekly chain store sales, a proxy for discretionary spending, have reached a plateau since Easter and are showing signs of tiredness as higher gasoline prices and the fading out of the fiscal stimulus are eating into disposable income.

From ICSC:

The International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs Retail Chain Store Sales Index fell 0.6% in the week ended Saturday from its level a week before on a seasonally adjusted, comparable-store basis.
On a year-on-year basis, retailers saw sales rise 0.6%.
Week Ending Index 1977=100 Yr/Yr Change Weekly Change
30-May-09 487.4 0.6% ... -0.6%
23-May-09 490.5 0.5% ... 0.8%
16-May-09 486.8 -0.3% ... -1.2%
9-May-09 492.7 0.5% ... 0.3%

From Redbook:

National chain store sales fell 0.3% in the first four weeks of May versus the previous month, according to Redbook Research's latest indicator of national retail sales released Tuesday.
The Johnson Redbook Index also showed seasonally adjusted sales in the period were down 0.1% from a year earlier, compared to a targeted 0.2% rise.

Redbook said that on an unadjusted basis, sales in the week ended Saturday were up 0.1% from the same week in 2008 after a 0.5% drop the prior week. Results in the latest week were aided by Memorial Day, along with some graduation shopping.

Disclosure: long WMT