Research >> Economics
ICSC Chain Store Sales unch% in Oct 13 Wk
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The ICSC‐Goldman Sachs (ICSC‐GS) chain store sales index for the week ending October 13 was unchanged from the prior week, while its year‐over‐year sales momentum remained relatively steady. The ICSC‐GS consumer tracking survey found that overall customer traffic was relatively steady as well during the past week, but compositionally very different from the prior week. The survey suggested a strong pickup in customer traffic at grocery stores, department stores, apparel stores and wholesale clubs, but weaker business at dollar stores, office supply and furniture stores. Helping to drive apparel and seasonal business for some retailers was the bout of cold weather.
According to Weather Trends, Inc. (WTI) the U.S. average nationwide temperature was a hefty 7.0°F colder than last year and 3.6°F below normal. WTI observed that the past week ending Saturday saw "very cold weather locked in across the eastern half of the nation ... setting 69 record low temperatures.” The price of gasoline at the pump receded in the latest week, but is still high relative to last year.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the national average price of a gallon of regular‐grade gasoline at the pump declined by 3.1 cents from the prior week to $3.819. That benchmark price per gallon was up 34 cents from the same week of last year or 9.9% higher. Relative to the same week of 2011, gasoline prices have risen for 10‐consecutive weeks.
Posted: October 16, 2012 Tuesday 07:45 AM