Research >> Economics
ICSC Chain Store Sales down 2.5% in Sept 15 Wk
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The ICSC‐Goldman Sachs (ICSC‐GS) chain store sales index for the week ending September 15 tumbled 2.5% from the prior week and its year‐over‐year momentum slowed sharply to 2.1% from 3.4% in the prior week. The ICSC‐GS consumer tracking survey found that overall customer traffic weakened appreciably and across the board by store type during this past week either compared with recent weeks or relative to the same week of the prior year. Customers appear to have taken a break as temperatures warmed up and gasoline prices continued to soar.
According to Weather Trends, Inc. (WTI) the U.S. average nationwide temperature was 1.4°F warmer than last year and near its normal average. WTI observed that it was dry in parts of the country, including the Northeast where it was the third driest similar week in more than 21 years, which likely helped the “demand for outdoor categories, like tailgating supplies.” But driving clearly continued to take a larger bite out of consumer budgets.
The U.S. average regular‐grade gasoline price posted its 11th consecutive increase and rose by 3.1 cents per gallon to $3.878 on September 17, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That was the highest price for regular‐grade since April 16, 2012 ($3.922). Cumulatively, over the past 11 weeks, the price of a gallon of regular‐grade gasoline rose by 52.2 cents and, on a year‐over‐year, posted its sixth consecutive increase ‐‐ up 7.7% compared with the same week of the prior year.
Posted: September 18, 2012 Tuesday 07:45 AM