Retail Sales Continue To Soften

New York, NY, Jan. 14, 2009--Retail sales in the first week of 2009 continued the weakness seen over the holiday period.

The ICSC-Goldman Sachs survey reported that sales were down 2.3% year-over-year in the week ending Jan. 10. Compared to the prior week, sales were down 2.2%.

"A seasonal weakening in traffic, less gift-card redemption and adverse weather all came together to weaken demand sharply for the first full week of 2009," said ICSC chief economist Michael Niemira.

Two weeks ago, the ICSC survey reported that holiday spending was the slowest in nearly four decades.

The ICSC-Goldman Sachs examines 75 retail chain stores in the U.S., excluding restaurants and vehicle demand.

Meanwhile, the Johnson Redbook retail survey, which covers 9,000 retail units, recorded a 1.9% decline in the week compared to the same period last year. In addition, sales to date in January fell back 2.3% compared to December.