Research >> Economics
ICSC Chain Store Sales unch% in Jul 14 Wk
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The International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) reported that chain store sales were unchanged from the prior week, while increasing 2.6% over the prior-year period during the week ending July 14th. According to the ICSC‐GS consumer tracking survey, apparel and department stores saw a pickup customer traffic this past week. Despite the lingering hot summer weather, about one‐third of all households that will buy back‐to‐school merchandise have already begun to shop, though the lion’s share of those purchases are expected to be made in August.
According to Weather Trends, Inc. (WTI) the U.S. average temperature was 0.9°F warmer than last year and 2.7°F above normal. WTI observed that, “heat surged in the West where temperatures were much warmer than last year, increasing demand for hot weather categories.” Meanwhile, fuel prices posted their 2nd consecutive increase as the summer driving pressures again pulled up prices. The US Energy Information Administration said gas prices rose 1.6 cents compared with the prior week to $3.427 on July 16th . Compared with the same week of the prior year, the price of regular‐grade gasoline fell by 6.9% in the latest week, which was its 13th straight year-over-year drop. For all of July, ICSC Research forecasts a comparable‐store sales gain of about 1.0% to 1.5%, and excluding drug stores, sales are expected to increase by around 3.0% to 3.5%.
Posted: July 17, 2012 Tuesday 07:45 AM