Research >> Economics
ICSC Chain Store Sales declined by 1.0% in Apr 14 Wk
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The International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) reported that chain store sales declined 1.0% from the prior week, the first fall in 3 weeks, while increasing 3.2% over the prior-year period during the week ending Apr 14th. “With the Easter holiday beginning (April 8), it is not surprising that seasonal apparel demand slowed in its aftermath, but cooler temperatures also brought a chill to the industry,” said Michael Niemira, ICSC’s vice president of research and chief economist. “Despite the setback this past week, retail sales are still up cumulatively over the past three weeks,” added Niemira. The ICSC‐GS consumer tracking survey found that consumers were shopping more at grocery stores, but business was weaker at wholesale clubs and apparel stores during the week.
Over the past week, temperatures turned cooler for the nation. According to Weather Trends International (WTI), the national average temperature over the past week ending Saturday was 1.0°F cooler than last year, but 1.8°F warmer than its long‐term average. Meanwhile, fuel prices had their second straight pullback, though the 2-week decline was modest.
For April, ICSC expects that comp-store sales will increase between 3.0% and 4.0% compared with a "tough" Easter-sales-inflated gain of 8.5% in April 2011.
Posted: April 17, 2012 Tuesday 07:45 AM