CHICAGO – November 26, 2005 – ShopperTrak RCT Corporation's National Retail Sales Estimate (NRSE) today reported that the 2005 holiday retail season got off to a relatively flat start as compared to 2004 as the season's first major shopping day, Black Friday, fell a very slight 0.9 percent. With heavy discounting by non-mall retailers combined with the extended shopping season in 2005, consumers may not feel the pressure to shop early this holiday season. Preliminary sales estimated at a daily rate for Black Friday totaled $8.0 billion or $8,010 million.

In 2004, Black Friday was the second busiest day of the holiday shopping season, falling just behind the Saturday before Christmas, and initially, it appears this may ring true again in 2005.

"Although the Black Friday number is a bit flat, this may be misleading as we're comparing this to a very strong 2004 performance," said Michael Niemira, chief economist and director of research for the International Council of Shopping Centers. "While Black Friday is important to retailers, it's not always the best indicator for consumer shopping patters during the remainder of the holiday season, which should allow the retail industry to continue feeling optimistic." Niemira continued: "With the extra Saturday this season, added to the continued influence of high energy prices, the consumer may just be waiting until later to begin their holiday spending."

Additionally, ShopperTrak reported that from a regional standpoint, the South is leading the nation's early holiday shopping push in 2005, with the Midwest coming in second.

Developed by ShopperTrak, the NRSE provides a nationwide benchmark of retail sales. It is derived from the U.S. Commerce Department's GAFO (general merchandise, apparel, furniture, sporting goods, electronics, hobby, books and other related store sales) statistic, as well as ShopperTrak's proprietary industry intelligence on shopper movement and sales statistics. This gives retailers, investors and policy makers the most accurate and timely information on consumer trends available today.

A privately held entity, ShopperTrak leverages 20 years of retail expertise to be the industry's authority for information and analysis of the movement of shoppers in retail environments. ShopperTrak's cutting-edge shopper tracking products and indices offer retail intelligence solutions that enable companies to better understand retail trends and the impact of store and staff performance on company revenues. With more than 45,000 units installed in the world's best known retail outlets and malls, the company's solutions also provide a proven means for retailers to gauge labor efficiencies, advertising and marketing efforts, store design and remodeling programs, merchandise changes, associate training programs, and other budget-intensive strategic initiatives.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The data contained within this news release is the property of ShopperTrak RCT Corporation and may be reprinted, published or broadcast, provided proper credit is given to the National Retail Sales Estimate (NRSE) and ShopperTrak RCT Corporation as the supplier of the information. Please contact Aaron Martin at 773.505.4325 if you have any questions concerning the use of this data.