Same-Store Sales
A performance metric comparing sales revenue of retail stores that have been open for at least one full comparable period, excluding newly opened or closed locations.
Full Definition
Same-store sales (also called comparable-store sales or 'comps') is the standard retail benchmark for measuring organic sales growth, isolating the performance of the existing store estate from the distorting effect of new store openings or closures. It is reported as a percentage change year-over-year and is a key metric in retail earnings releases and investor communications. Analysts use same-store sales to distinguish genuine trading improvements from mere network expansion. The term is always hyphenated ('same-store sales') when used as a noun or compound modifier. Editors should not accept 'same store sales' (unhyphenated) in formal documents.
Usage
Usage note: Always hyphenate: 'same-store sales.' In UK retail reporting, the equivalent term is 'like-for-like (LFL) sales'; editors should apply whichever is specified by house style and note the equivalence on first use if audiences may be mixed.
In Context
- "Same-store sales grew by 4.7% in Q3, outpacing the sector average and signalling strong underlying trading momentum." — Retail earnings report
- "The analyst excluded three new openings from the dataset to ensure a clean same-store sales comparison." — Retail financial analysis