US DATA: Redbook for wk Jul 28: “As we close out the month and the
second quarter overall sales registered a slower pace in the fourth week
as consumers continued to shun cool weather merchandise. Meanwhile,
other retailers reported a somewhat firmer tone in sales toward the
weekend, especially in apparel, which they attributed to the beginning
of back-to-school demand. Mississippi was the first of seventeen states
which kicked-off a tax-free holiday beginning on Friday July 27th and
ending on Saturday July 28th; the ordinary 7% sales tax on clothing and
footwear was waived on purchases under $100.”
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Year-over-year: Week (w/e 07/28/12 vs year-ago) 1.1%
Year-over-year: Month (July 2012 vs July 2011) 1.6%
Month-over-month: (July 2012 vs June 2012) -1.4%