US DATA: wk 05-May Redbook: “Redbook’s retail sample missed its
target in the first week of May. Mother’s Day falls a week later this
year than last, complicating comparisons for the first week; the
one-week shift in Mother’s Day had a depressing effect on the
year-over-year growth rate. Some Mother’s Day buying was evident in
sales of gifts and cosmetics, however, merchants anticipate the full
effect of the event to occur in this coming week. Retailers are also
expecting people to shop for school graduation in the coming weeks.”
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Year-over-year: Week (w/e 05/05/12 vs year-ago) 2.6%
Year-over-year: Month (May 2012 vs May 2011) 2.6%
Month-over-month: (May 2012 vs April 2012) -1.3%