US Weekly Chain Store Sales
- Importance (A-F): Both of these releases merit a D+.
- Source: Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi and LJR Redbook
- Release Time: Mitsubishi: 9:00 ET each Tuesday (data for week ended
prior Saturday); Redbook: 14:55 ET each Tuesday (data in the form of a running
monthly total for the week ended prior Saturday).
Note that the release times for these private surveys are the official
embargo times. The releases are provided to subscribers much earlier and
typically leaked to the rest of the market long before these official release
times. Mitsubishi is typically leaked by 8:00 ET, and the Redbook survey is
usually known in the market by 14:15 ET.
The Mitsubishi chain-store sales index is based on a representative sample of
nine large retailers and measures sales on a weekly basis. The index is
relatively volatile from week to week and therefore has little to say about
broader consumption patterns. Mitsubishi also produces a monthly measure of
sales, which does a better job of predicting a few pieces of the retail sales
report (particularly the general merchandise and apparel components).
The LJR Redbook survey tracks 15 retail stores every week to determine the
changes in sales. The report is month to date where: the first week of the month
is compared to the previous month; the second week compares the first two weeks
of the month to the previous month, and so on. The Redbook survey has a somewhat
better track record for predicting chain store sales in the monthly retail sales
report.
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