Chicago, IL, Aug. 28--U.S. retailing executives are feeling more optimistic that the sector is finally on the mend after months of disappointing sales, according to a survey released on Wednesday.
The monthly survey by the National Retail Federation and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi comes in a week when several major retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Sears, Roebuck and Co. raised August sales forecasts.
The retail chief executives polled said more people went shopping in August and spent more per trip, but pricing pressure remained fierce.
"The back-to-school shopping season appears to have given the retail industry a much-needed sales boost," said Tracy Mullin, president of the National Retail Federation.
"We are hopeful this is a sign of good things to come as retailers prepare for the holiday season."
Consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, so analysts and economists watch shopping trends closely. Spending held up relatively well during the recent recession, but many retailers missed out as people bought big-ticket items such as cars instead of clothing.
The Retail Sector Performance Index--which measures CEOs' evaluations of monthly sales, customer traffic, amount spent per customer, employment, inventories and a six-month outlook--showed strength for the third consecutive month in August.
The index can range from zero to 100, with a reading of more than 50 percent indicating improvement in industry conditions. For August, it stood at 55.1 percent.
"August marked the third consecutive monthly reading above 50 percent, which suggests that the retail sector clearly is on the mend," said Michael Niemira, senior retail analyst and economist with Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi.
The survey began last September, so there is no year-over-year comparison available. The index troughed at 31.7 percent in January, after a disappointing holiday season generated the smallest sales gain in 30 years.
August customer traffic, which refers to the number of people in stores, recorded the best gain in the short history of the survey. The six-month demand outlook index also hit its highest mark since the survey began.
But the industry pricing index, which assesses discounting, stood at a low 25 percent, above July's dismal 21.9 percent, but still an indication of widespread discounting.
