Research >> Economics
ICSC Chain Store Sales rose by 0.9% in Mar 17 Wk
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The International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) reported that chain store sales rose 0.9% from the prior week and increased a strong 3.3% over the prior-year period during the week ending Mar 17th. “Warm temperatures heated up spending for the consumer over the past week as apparel and department stores saw an improvement in their business, as well factory outlets, according to the ICSC-Goldman Sachs consumer tracking survey,” said Michael Niemira, ICSC’s vice president of research and chief economist. “Though this overall sales improvement across sales categories is a positive sign for the retail industry, we will continue to watch the effect of rising gasoline prices on consumers’ discretionary budgets in the coming weeks.”
According to Weather Trends International (WTI), the national average temperature over the past week ending Saturday was 7.4°F warmer than last year and a huge 12.4°F warmer than its long‐term average. The exploding early spring weather unleashed strong interest in spring apparel. However, gasoline prices continued to march higher through the nation with a huge jump in the Rocky Mountain states (four times the national average on a “catch‐up” move). The US Energy Information Administration said gas prices rose by another 3.8 cents compared with the prior week’s price to $3.867 on Mar 19, the highest since May 16 and 64 cents higher per gallon just since Christmas. For all of March,
ICSC Research forecasts a 3% to 5% gain compared with a 2.0% rise in March 2011.
Posted: March 20, 2012 Tuesday 07:00 AM