CHICAGO – December 22, 2009 – ShopperTrak’s National Retail Sales Estimate (NRSE) today reported that total GAFO retail sales for the last Saturday before Christmas (12/19), or Super Saturday, fell a sharp 12.6 percent as compared to last year, while the company’s retail traffic index (SRTI) reported a similar 12.4 percent total U.S. foot traffic decline for the same period.

Both yearly sales and traffic fell significantly on Super Saturday as the large storm that wreaked havoc in parts of the Midwest and on the Eastern seaboard kept consumers in doors on what is traditionally the second largest spending day of the holiday season. In all, Saturday sales accounted for $6.9 billion, as opposed to $7.9 billion last year and $8.7 billion in 2007. Regionally, the Northeast (-17.3 percent) and South (-14.6 percent) showed the steepest Super Saturday sales declines, with the Midwest (-10.1 percent) and West (-7.1 percent) posting smaller losses.

“Mother Nature was very unkind to retailers on Saturday as the year-over-year sales decline was the largest we’ve seen since we began reporting this number in 2002,” said Bill Martin, co-founder of ShopperTrak. “We originally predicted Super Saturday would be the number two sales day of the season just behind Black Friday, with the full weekend landing just ahead of Black Friday weekend as the top performing period. But after analyzing our data following the storm, it’s fairly apparent neither will be the case.”

According to Mr. Martin, the Super Saturday depression some retailers might be feeling doesn’t necessarily mean the holiday season is a wash.

“Our data shows when there is a significant weather event, shoppers spend both before and after in higher numbers and we estimate that both Friday (12/18) and Sunday (12/20) posted retail sales gains in all regions of the country,” said Mr. Martin. “Additionally because there are four full shopping days leading up to Christmas this year, we anticipate the Northwest and South regions will post higher spending levels this week due to pent up demand – boosting sales figures for the season. We’ll know next week if our original prediction of a 1.6 percent sales increase with a 4.2 percent total U.S. foot traffic decline is still intact.”

In looking at the full Super Saturday weekend (12/18 – 12/20), year-over-year retail sales slipped 2.1 percent, totaling $18.8 billion

Additionally, ShopperTrak reported GAFO retail sales for the week ending Dec. 19 decreased 1.2 percent compared to the same period in 2008 but showed an expected 20.0 percent gain versus the previous week ending 12. For ShopperTrak’s full holiday 2009 analysis, please visit www.shoppertrak.com.

The SRTI is generated from a carefully drawn sample of more than 50,000 retail and enclosed mall locations throughout the United States. The product is a set of five calculated indices for select segments of the retail industry that compare current week mall or store traffic to a baseline traffic figure from a fixed week on the NRF calendar. The SRTI is priced by individual segment.

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 50,000 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. For more information visit http://www.shoppertrak.com.

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), Retail Traffic Index (SRTI) and ShopperTrak RCT Corporation as the supplier of the information. Please contact Aaron Martin at 312-943-9100 if you have any questions concerning the use of this data. ###