New York, NY – Based on satellite imagery data gathered by DigitalGlobe, Inc. parking lot traffic at U.S. Walmart stores seems to have rebounded modestly in October, after posting significant declines in both August and September. Despite the slight October gain, Walmart’s traffic for the 3rd Quarter is projected to have fallen for the fifth consecutive quarter.
Traffic Rebounds Slightly
After posting declines of more than 6.0% in both August and September, DigitalGlobe estimates that parking lot traffic rose a meager 0.2% in October – an encouraging sign for the world’s largest retailer. Consequently, on a year over year basis, Walmart traffic is projected to have fallen 4.3%, marking the fifth straight quarter of declining customer traffic. While most see this trend as a sign of weakness in consumer spending, some analysts argue that consumers have been consolidating their shopping trips to Walmart due to higher gas prices and tighter budgets.
Expected Turnaround in Same Store Sales
In fact, DigitalGlobe estimates that Walmart is likely to see a modest gain in same store sales during the 3rd Quarter despite weaker traffic. This is based on an expected increase in the average ticket size of purchases due to inflation, assortment, price increases, and trip consolidation. Walmart’s same store sales fell a reported 1.1% and 0.9% in the 1st and 2nd Quarters of 2011, respectively.
About DigitalGlobe, Inc.
DigitalGlobe, Inc. has been a provider of commercial high resolution earth imagery products and services for the past 18 years, working for NASA, the US Department of Defense, Google, and Microsoft. The firm offers up-to-date and historical earth imagery enabling customers to map, monitor and analyze the physical world. Its technology allows for global coverage, especially in the US and Western Europe where aerial coverage can be done literally wall-to-wall. Imagery of large objects such as containers, traffic, crops or machinery is ideal to uncover facts that hide behind the physical world.
In recent months, DigitalGlobe has started serving the buy-side community by partnering with satellite analytics provider RS Metrics to create a wide range of studies with relevance to various investment topics. Click here for addition information about Digital Globe’s investment oriented services. For specific information about how to work with DigitalGlobe, please contact Ian Chodos, 203.707.0863, ichodos@digitalglobe.com