WASHINGTON D.C., Apr 7, 2005/ FW/ --- The early Easter holidays did its magic for retailers, providing a big boost in March in the retail sector performance registering 2.8 RSPI points in February soaring to 58.4 RSPI points in March.

It’s highest reading since May 2004, the Retail Sector Performance Index (RSPI) measures retail executives' evaluations of monthly sales, customer traffic, the average transaction per customer, employment, inventories and a six-month-ahead sales outlook expectation. The RSPI is based on a scale of 0.0-100.0 with 50.0 equaling normal.

"Retailers are pleasantly surprised that they have been able to keep the momentum from the holiday season going through the first quarter," said NRF President and CEO Tracy Mullin. "While we expected some weakness due to higher gas prices, consumers have yet to be deterred."

Major survey indicators for March remained strong as gains in customer sales and traffic increased the Current Demand Index 2.2 points to 61.4. Retail executives also reported more pricing power in March as the Pricing Index rose 5.5 points to 45.5, the highest reading since the survey's inception in 2003.

While the Operations Index, which measures inventory levels and employment remained unchanged at 52.5, retailers are looking ahead with continued optimism. The Demand Outlook, which is a six-month-ahead sales outlook, jumped 6.5 points to 61.5.

The NRF Executive Opinion Survey is a valuable strategic tool to track essential metrics that gauge the state of the U.S. retail industry.

The survey is used to gather the opinions of the industry's top executives on trends in merchandising, hiring, sales expectations, customer traffic and special seasonal-related developments.

The survey is conducted on a monthly basis and, as results accumulate, will be used to develop an aggregated index of these industry trends.

For more information please log on at: www.nrf.com