Retail Industry Notes

Positives:
a. Rising same-store sales
b. Healthy macro factors that drive consumption, such as labor market (non-farm payrolls) and consumer confidence (although does not necessarily correlate with consumer spending)

Negatives:
a. Unreasonably warm weather during holiday season (like in 2007), which hurts sales of cold weather merchandise
b. If inventory growth outpace sales growth
c. High gas prices, which can limit consumer spending http://home.doe.gov/pricestrends/index.htm