Research >> Economics
ICSC Chain Store Sales fell by 5.4% in Jan 7 Wk
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The International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) reported that chain store tumbled 5.4% from the prior week, the largest decline on record going back to September 1989, and increased just 2.8% over the prior-year period during the week ending Jan 7th. ”January is a low sales volume month and small shifts can be accentuated, which is the case in the first week of the January fiscal month,” said Michael Niemira, ICSC vice president of research and chief economist. “The slowdown was intensified by the abnormally warm weather across the country which softened the demand for seasonal goods on a week-over-week basis,” added Niemira. Through the latest week, the ICSC‐GS consumer tracking survey found that 36% of the value of gift cards received as holiday gifts were already redeemed, near the high end of recent years.
The survey also found a market share shift over the latest week towards business at drug stores, wholesale clubs and office supply stores. According to Weather Trends International (WTI), national temperatures over the past week ending Saturday were a hefty 7.0°F warmer than last year and 6.2°F warmer than its long-term average. They also noted that “other than two days of winter , the week overall was very mild across the nation making this the warmest first week of January in four years.” For all of January, ICSC Research forecast a 2% to 3%% gain compared with a 4.7% rise in January 2010.
Posted: January 10, 2012 Tuesday 07:45 AM