As expected both yearly and weekly sales levels dropped last week as holiday shopping momentum continues to fade and following the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday which provided an extra day to shop during the week ending Jan. 23. ShopperTrak reported year-over-year GAFO retail sales increased early in January but posted declines during the last two weeks of the month.

“The rather steady declines we tracked last week aren’t alarming to retailers as annually we see weakness during the period following the holidays and just prior to Valentine’s Day,” said Bill Martin, co-founder of ShopperTrak. “Sales will increase later this week and into next as Valentine’s spending begins and President’s Day approaches.”

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.