January 14

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Local Merchants Outperform National Retailers During 2004 Holiday Shopping Season

January 14, 2005

Norfolk, VA - Retailers in Hampton Roads significantly outperformed national retail statistics during the 2004 holiday shopping season, with an average sales increase of 16 percent over the previous year, according to the first-ever Retail Alliance Holiday Sales Watch.

The Retail Alliance tracked sales from the post-Thanksgiving shopping weekend through Christmas by taking weekly surveys of participating merchants in several retail categories, including apparel, jewelry and garden centers. “We know the Hampton Roads economy is strong, and these holiday sales numbers demonstrate that,” said Retail Alliance President/CEO C. Donald Porter. “It’s clear from the survey that our locally-owned businesses are thriving. We’ve seen them take such a big leap forward.”

The Retail Alliance staff analyzed five weeks of survey data and determined the average percentage of sales change in several categories. While nearly all categories performed well, women’s apparel did show a decline from the previous year.

Nationally, December retail sales in the GAFS category (general merchandise stores, clothing and clothing accessories stores, furniture and home furnishings stores, electronics and appliances stores, and sporting goods, hobby, book and music stores) rose 6.4 percent over the previous year and increased 0.5 percent seasonally adjusted from November, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF). Combined, November and December brought holiday sales growth to 5.7 percent, the strongest growth since 1999 and higher than last year's 5.1 percent increase. NRF had been predicting a 4.5 percent GAFS sales increase since September.

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