Adams completed a survey of sales per sf for 2004 on behalf of the 120-block Downtown Denver Business Improvement District. The report, which breaks out the quarterly sales data for nine retail sub-sectors, shows Downtown retail sales follow a less traditional sales pattern than most suburban shopping centers, with only half of the categories reporting more than 30% of sales coming in the fourth quarter. The other half shows little variance from quarter to quarter.

The report shows that general clothing, entertainment and full-service restaurants are highly competitive retail categories for Downtown. The average sales for the entire year came to $330.44 per sf for general clothing. For entertainment, it can to $129.82 per sf, while full-service restaurants led the categories at $457.32 per sf. General clothing and restaurant categories show largest range in sales volume of any categories, with variation of $500 per sf in clothing and more than $700 per sf in restaurants between the low and high performers. Other spreads were typically $250 per sf within a category.

Another finding is that stores in retail centers see sale trends that are generally constant in each of the four quarters. And all sizes of specialty stores and sporting good stores are the only categories to report 30% or more of sales coming in fourth quarter holiday spending.