IDT(IDT) GlobeNewswire News Room·2025-03-05 13:30Core Insights - February same-store sales increased by 3.5% year-over-year, showing resilience despite a previous month increase of 4.7% [4] - The NRS retail network processed $1.7 billion in sales during February 2025, representing a 14% year-over-year increase [14] - The NRS network's same-store sales growth has outpaced the U.S. Commerce Department's data by an average of 1.0% over the past twelve months, although February's increase was 0.5% lower than the Department's [6] Sales Performance - Same-store sales increased 6.1% compared to January 2025, which had seen a decrease of 7.5% from December 2024 [4] - For the three months ending February 28, 2025, same-store sales rose by 2.7% compared to the same period a year ago [4] Units Sold - Units sold increased by 3.0% year-over-year, with a 5.0% increase compared to January 2025 [5] - In January 2025, units sold had decreased by 3.1% from December 2024 [5] Transaction Metrics - Baskets (transactions) per store decreased by 0.9% year-over-year but increased by 4.6% compared to January 2025 [5] - Baskets in January 2025 had decreased by 5.3% from December 2024 [5] Pricing Trends - The dollar-weighted average price for the top 500 items purchased increased by 2.3% year-over-year, a slower rate than the 2.9% increase recorded in January 2025 [5] Market Insights - Strong year-over-year growth was noted in categories such as Smokeless Tobacco, Tequila, and Energy Beverages, while the Gum category experienced its first year-over-year decrease in over a year [9] - Seasonal categories like Chocolate and Still Wine outperformed February 2024, while Confectionary and Sparkling Wine/Champagne saw declines [10] Network Overview - As of February 28, 2025, the NRS retail network included approximately 34,800 active terminals across about 30,300 independent retailers [2] - The data for same-store comparisons in February 2025 was derived from approximately 179 million transactions processed through about 21,100 stores [11]