Sales Strong in Second Week of January
Whereas the first week of 2016 got off to a slow start, independent grocers reported that their same store sales were up 2.55 percent compared to the same period in 2015. Customer counts remained strong, up close to six percent.
Last week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its December consumer price index report and the results showed continued decrease in the rate of inflation. In fact, food at home prices deflated in December and the 12 months of 2015.
In December, food at home prices decreased 0.5 percent. Individual categories that decreased were meat/poultry/fish/eggs (-1.4 percent), fruits/vegetables (-0.5 percent), other (-0.3 percent), cereal/bakery (-0.1 percent), and nonalcoholic beverages (-0.1 percent). The only increase came from dairy, at a slow 0.1 percent increase.
The index for food at home prices has now fallen 0.4 percent in the past 12 months, which retailers are feeling when it comes to their bottom line. Healthy levels of inflation help keep prices strong, but weak inflation, and now a period of deflation make it difficult for retailers to surpass previous years’ sales when their inventory isn’t worth as much as it used to be.