CHICAGO, IL, November 17, 2009 – ShopperTrak’s National Retail Sales Estimate™ (NRSE) today reported that year-over-year GAFO retail sales increased 0.7 percent for the week ending November 14 while sales rose a solid 7.5 percent versus the previous week ending November 7.

As expected, GAFO retail sales increased last week as Veteran’s Day provided an extra shopping day and as the holiday shopping season rapidly approach. ShopperTrak expects retail sales and traffic will remain positive this week as consumers responds to early holiday sales and promotions prior to Black Friday – the company’s anticipated top performing day this holiday season.

“On both a yearly and weekly level we expect retail sales to be flat to slightly positive this week as folks gear up for the holidays and possibly head out early to take advantage of discounted items,” said Bill Martin, co-founder of ShopperTrak. “Despite current economic conditions, the annual slight build retailers experience leading into Black Friday should continue both this week and next.”

ShopperTrak’s Black Friday sales data will be released Saturday, Nov. 28 at approximately 3 p.m. EST. 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'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), 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.
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