CHICAGO, IL, December 9, 2009 – ShopperTrak RCT Corporation’s Retail Traffic Index (SRTI) today reported that total U.S. foot traffic for the month of November fell 6.1 percent while the company’s National Retail Sales Estimate (NRSE) reported retail sales slipped a very slight 0.1 percent for the same period.

Although total U.S. foot traffic levels had been steadily improving since July, with October’s 3.0 percent decline representing the smallest year-over-year decline in over a year, November foot traffic fell more than 6.0 percent versus the same period last year. ShopperTrak also reported November traffic increased an expected 12.5 percent versus October as holiday shopping began.

“Our data suggests smart consumers held off visits to various retail locations early in the month, then very economically planned trips to specific stores later in the month during Black Friday weekend to take advantage of door buster sales and other holiday promotions,” said Bill Martin, co-founder of ShopperTrak.

ShopperTrak’s NRSE showed retail sales were essentially flat in November as compared to last year as once again consumers visited retail locations less, but spent more during each visit – a pattern the industry saw throughout the 2008 holiday season and one that could be the new normal for holiday shopping moving forward.

“Shoppers are using all available resources, including the Internet and various advertisements, to research the best deals prior to visiting the mall, effectively reducing the amount of time spent window shopping and eliminating unnecessary visits,” said Mr. Martin. “Looking ahead, it should be interesting to see how reduced inventories impact sales as the holiday season progresses and merchandise begins to thin out. Because of this, we expect to see some spending late next week just prior to Super Saturday (Dec. 19) as some shoppers want to be sure a particular item is in stock, followed by heavy shopping on the 19th and during the week leading into Christmas.”

On a weekly level, ShopperTrak’s NRSE reported sales for the week ending December 5 fell 0.3 percent as compared to last year, while weekly sales decreased 18.0 percent versus the previous seven-day period ending November 28 as the Black Friday hangover materialized.

For ShopperTrak’s full holiday 2009 analysis, please visit ShopperTrak’s newly designed Website, www.shoppertrak.com.

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 proprietary industry intelligence on shopper movement and sales statistics.

The ShopperTrak Retail Traffic Index™ measures traffic across five separate retail segments including total U.S. retailing. Available as a database or in newsletter format, SRTI reports national and regional traffic trends in a rolling 16 month trend line.

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), the ShopperTrak Retail Traffic Index 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.
###