SCC - First Clear Evidence Of Coronavirus Impact In High Frequency Consumer Data

Introduction

I have been saying for the past few weeks that the news would outrun the data. That being said, the impact of the coronavirus would first show up in the weekly high frequency indicators.

Chain store sales show stockpiling

This morning, we got two important reads on chain store sales from last week. Both Redbook and the Retail Economist recorded surges in chain store sales last week, as consumers rushed to stockpile supplies.

Redbook surged to up +8.5% YoY. This is the highest YoY growth in over a year, and almost certainly represents hoarding,