Albany, N.Y. – National pundits’ early analysis that retail sales faltered the week before Christmas making for a ho hum holiday season didn’t ring true for many New York state merchants. Nearly three-quarters of retailers polled by the Retail Council of New York State said that their week-before-Christmas sales were better than (46%) or the same as (26%) their sales during the same week in 2005. Seventy-one percent reported that week-before-Christmas sales met their expectations.

Such a strong performance the week before Christmas, the most important of the holiday shopping season, led surveyed retailers to award the 2006 season with a solid “B” letter grade. It is the third consecutive year that Retail Council members have given such a high mark.

Retailers throughout the state reported the results through the Retail Council’s annual “Holiday Sales Watch,” a periodic snapshot of sales activity in stores small and large. This third Holiday Sales Watch was conducted Jan. 2 -3 and gauged retailers’ perception of sales activity the week before and after Christmas. This report concludes the Council’s assessment of the holiday season.

The end result is slightly better than what retailers expected of the 2006 holiday season. A September-October 2006 forecast survey conducted by the Retail Council revealed that 67 percent of participating members expected sales to be the same as or better than sales in 2005.

“It appears that merchants entered the season with realistic expectations – that 2006 would be another modest year with small increases in sales,” said Retail Council President and Chief Executive Officer James R. Sherin. “Their perceptions were accurate, which allowed them to give holiday season a solid ‘B’ letter grade.”

The 2006 holiday shopping season got off to a good start as retailers reported heavy Black Friday sales. While sales were steady the next three weeks, the majority of merchants (70%) reported that the week before Christmas was their busiest. Sixty-three percent indicated that after-Christmas sales met their expectations, with 83 percent reporting that their sales were the same as or better than 2005 post-Christmas sales.

After-Christmas activity undoubtedly benefited from the high sale of gift cards this holiday season. More than 80 percent of merchants reported that their gift card sales were the same as or better than gift card sales in 2005.

The lack of wintry weather made travel to and from stores easy, but dampened sales of traditional cold weather apparel. According to participating merchants, consumer electronics (flat screen televisions, video games, digital cameras, etc.) were the best sellers this holiday season.

“Fears of high energy costs and a softening housing market didn’t prevent shoppers from spending in New York state’s stores this holiday season,” said Mr. Sherin. “Such a finale bodes well for retailers moving into 2007.”

Hot Sellers for the 2006 Holiday Season

For Girls: Barbie, Bratz, TMX Elmo, Dora the Explorer, Disney Princess, I-Pod/MP3 players, Nintendo DC, PlayStation 3, The Little Mermaid

For Boys: TMX Elmo, Cars (generic), PlayStation 3, other video games, Legos, Nintendo DS, Hot Wheels, XBOX 360, remote controlled cars and trucks

For Adults: Home electronics (flat screen TVs, portable DVD players, I-Pods, digital cameras), apparel, accessories, jewelry (especially layered necklaces for women), books, CDs, DVDs, gift cards

About the Retail Council of New York State: The “Voice of Retailing” in New York state, the Retail Council represents thousands of member stores of all size and variety. The Retail Council offers money-saving group benefit programs and government relations expertise to its members. For more information, please visit www.retailcouncilnys.com.