Research >> Economics
ICSC Chain Store Sales dropped 3.2% in Jan 8 Wk
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After four solid weeks of shopping consumers finally took a break and left retailers with a post-holiday sales slump. As a result, week-over-week retail sales declined by a sharp 3.2 percent, according to the ICSC-Goldman Sachs Weekly Chain Store Sales Index. However, on a year-over-year basis, the pace of retail sales remained relatively steady with the prior week at 3.5 percent.
“Although sales fell sharply during this past week, the week-over-week decline probably was exaggerated by the seasonal adjustment given a low volume week,” said Michael Niemira, ICSC vice president of research and chief economist. “More importantly for January, retailers should see some improvements over the next few weeks as consumers redeem their gift cards throughout the month,” Niemira added.
For January, ICSC Research expects retail sales will be somewhat subdued relative to recent months with overall chain store sales increasing by around 2.5 percent, as there is expected to be less gift card redemption this year compared with January 2010 — as suggested by ICSC-Goldman Sachs consumer spending surveys.
Posted: January 11, 2011 Tuesday 07:45 AM