Executive Summary

Coresight Research’s monthly reports keep you up to date on US and UK retail sales, US retail traffic and in-store metrics, selected US retailers’ same-store sales and key global consumer indicators. Click here to view our full collection of Monthly Reports.

Our US Monthly Retail Sales and Traffic Report reviews year-over-year changes in selected store-based metrics, including sales, traffic and conversion rates.

Highlights from our September Retail Traffic report:

• US retail sales fell unexpectedly in August. On a month-over-month basis, total retail sales decreased by 0.2% in August and amounted to $474.8 billion.
• On a year-over-year basis, total retail sales increased by 3.3% in August and retail sales excluding autos increased by 1.5%.
• Only four out of 13 major store categories posted negative sales results compared with July. E-commerce and auto sales fell the most. Sales at nonstore retailers dropped by 1.1% month over month in August. Hurricane Harvey, which significantly impacted Texas in the last week of August, contributed to sluggish auto sales.
• According to RetailNext, store sales and traffic metrics worsened from July to August. Retail traffic declined by 7.7% year over year. Average transaction value was down 2.1% year over year, while sales per shopper fell by 2.0%. Total transactions declined by 7.5%.