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ICSC Chain Store Sales fell 3.0% in Jan 9 Wk
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The International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs Retail Chain Store Sales Index fell 3% in the week ended Saturday from the week before on a seasonally adjusted, comparable-store basis.
The decrease came as consumers lacked a reason to go out and shop after the holiday season, and bargain-hunting consumers had limited clearance merchandise from which to choose. "If it is not on sale and the consumer does not need it, they will not make the purchase," ICSC chief economist Michael Niemira said.
Niemira said an ICSC-Goldman Sachs consumer survey showed that 53% of consumers said they were looking for bargains, with two-thirds of those bargain-hunters saying they weren't likely to buy an item that wasn't on sale.
Niemira said January industrywide comparable-store sales are likely to be "flat to up 1% as limited clearance merchandise is likely to hold back reported sales." On a year-on-year basis, the reading rose 1.7% last week.
Posted: January 12, 2010 Tuesday 07:45 AM