Research >> Economics
ICSC Chain Store Sales declined 1.0% in Feb 25 Wk
|
The International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) reported that chain store sales fell 1.0% from the prior week, but increased 2.7% over the prior-year period during the week ending Feb 25th. “A blast of warm temperatures rolled in again and gasoline prices continued to climb, which collectively helped to soften sales this past week,” said Michael Niemira, ICSC’s vice president of research and chief economist. “The results this past week continue a relatively choppy sales pattern that the industry has been experiencing since January and, as a result, monthly comparable store sales are likely to mirror this when retailers report their February sales results on Thursday, March 1,” added Niemira. Weaker discount store business seemingly weighed down the week’s performance, based on the ICSC‐GS consumer tracking survey.
Weather was abnormally warm for the season again. According to Weather Trends International (WTI), the national average temperature over the past week ending Saturday was 5.3°F warmer than last year and 4.0°F warmer than its long‐term average. As noted in recent weeks, gasoline prices continued to back up and pare consumer discretionary purchasing power. The US Energy Information Administration said gas prices jumped by another nearly 13 cents compared with the prior week’s price to $3.781 on Feb 27, the largest one-week gain in nearly a year and prices are now 10.0% higher than a year ago and are 49.2 cents higher just since Christmas. For all of February, ICSC Research forecast a 3% to 3.5%% gain compared with a 4.2% rise in February 2011.
Posted: February 28, 2012 Tuesday 07:45 AM