U.S. foot traffic at major shopping centers for the month of February fell 9.3 percent while sales slipped 1.5 percent for the same period, according to ShopperTrak RCT Corp.

ShopperTrak’s Retail Traffic Index, which measures traffic in retail environments and its National Retail Sales Estimate, which measures retail sales, continued to slide as consumer confidence continues to wane in the current economy, according to the Chicago-based market research company. However, Valentine’s and President’s Day provided a slight weekly boost which helped monthly performance as compared to January. The SRTI and NRSE reported 12.9 traffic decline and a 3.8 sales decline, when compared with January figures.

“Unfortunately it seems we’re reporting a very similar story each month, which is the American consumer simply doesn’t have the confidence or disposal income to spend in retail right now and our numbers support that,” said Bill Martin, co-founder of ShopperTrak. “Although there were certain events in February that provided a lift, sales and traffic remained slow as compared to last year and this trend could continue early in Q2 even with help from Easter spending.”

JCK