Indian River Consulting Group’s (IRCG) weekly Pandemic Revenue Index for the work week of Aug. 24 to Aug. 28 indicated a 2.6% increase compared with the same week a year ago.

This is the third straight week that the index has posted a gain. Five of the index participants saw a sales gain versus the same week in 2019. The sales gains ranged from 3.2% to 38% with the decreases ranging from 1% to 30%. IRCG said the wide variation is a “reminder that although the index is trending positive, there is a lot of volatility within it.”

“Over the last few months, a pattern has emerged that the week containing the last business day of the month shows an uptick, but the week preceding it is usually pretty weak,” said Mike Emerson, IRCG partner. “Hopefully, with the last day of the month coming next week, the growth trend strengthens.”