Hot Topic becomes the latest retailer to cease reporting monthly comparable sales figures, switching to reporting only quarterly sales numbers starting in the third quarter 2011. Monthly numbers from BJ's Wholesale will also join the exodus once it goes private.
The two retailers are in good company. Wal-Mart, Sears, Home Depot, Lowe's, Ann Taylor, Chico's, Children's Place, American Apparel, Abercrombie & Fitch, Aeropostale, and American Eagle Outfitters ignore the voluntary monthly sales release. Nor can you blame them. The companies spend time and resources to put them out. While same-store sales help companies with good news when times are booming, any drop in same-store sales finds retailers hemming and hawing about shifting holidays, bad hair days, and Mercury retrogrades. Quarterly sales tend to even out the volatility.
According to Customer Growth Partners, comparable sales reports represent about 10% of total US retail sales and remain heavily skewed towards apparel and department stores, leaving out most consumer electronics and home improvement. In addition, some chains report only sales from stores while others include online sales in their figures. While the end of monthly same-sales reporting may be some time off, the trend among retailers certainly points towards its abandonment.
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