Research >> Economics
ICSC Chain Store Sales dropped 0.1% in Jan 15 Wk
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Ice and snow storms during the past week played havoc with the consumers’ ability to shop. Overall, for the week ending January 15, sales slipped slightly by 0.1 percent, according to the ICSC-Goldman Sachs Weekly Chain Store Sales Index. In addition to the weekly sales decline, sales on a year-over-year basis experienced their smallest gain since May 22, 2010 and slowed to 1.4 percent.
“Last week’s disruptive weather once again accentuated the weakness in sales,” said Michael Niemira, ICSC vice president of research and chief economist. “Since January is a low-volume month for sales and more susceptible to weather impacts and other volatility, the recent weakness is not very meaningful — even though the month is shaping up softer than recent trends,” Niemira added.
For January, ICSC Research expects the pace of retail sales will be subdued with overall chain-store sales increasing by around 2.5 percent, as weather impacts and less gift-card redemption this year compared with January 2010 — as suggested by ICSC-Goldman Sachs consumer spending surveys — restrain the pace of spending.
Posted: January 19, 2011 Wednesday 07:45 AM