08:55 AM EDT, 07/30/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Redbook US same-store sales rose by 4.5% from a year earlier in the week ended July 27 after a 4.9% year-over-year increase in the previous week.

Redbook noted sales slowed due to the heat wave in most parts of the country and due to the mid-July doldrums. Retailers are trying to clear summer products and bring customers in for back-to-school items. Customers also focused on purchasing back-to-school items in back-to-school tax-free holidays this week in Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee.

Through the third selling week for July, sales were up 4.7% compared with July 2023, below the target for a 5.6% gain, Redbook said.