Research >> Economics
ICSC Chain Store Sales rose 2.0% in Jul 7 Wk
|
The International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) reported that chain store sales spiked up 2.0% from the prior week, while accelerating to a 3.0% pace over the prior-year period during the week ending July 7th. “This past week featured a number of factors – extreme hot weather, Independence Day and vacations – all of which helped to spur sales of summer-related goods,” said Michael Niemira, ICSC’s vice president of research and chief economist. “As positive as the results were, this first fiscal week of July is traditionally a quiet week relative to later in the month when back-to-school shopping kicks-in.” According to the ICSC‐GS consumer tracking survey, discounters and grocery stores saw a pickup in the week’s share of consumer spending. Scorching heat in the Midwest and Northeast during the Independence Holiday week and above normal temperatures in the South and Rocky Mountain states helped to drive demand for hot weather items, such as beverages, water, ice cream, pool supplies, air conditions and the like. Summer goods will continue to drive demand until later in the month when the back‐to‐school selling season gets under way.
According to Weather Trends, Inc. (WTI) the U.S. average temperature was 2.3°F warmer than last year and 5.4°F above normal. WTI observed that, “a blistering heat wave stretched across a good portion of the United States making this [past week] the hottest first‐fiscal week of July in more than 21 years.” Meanwhile, fuel prices posted their first increase in 14 weeks as seasonal driving pressures pulled up prices. The US Energy Information Administration said gas prices rose 5.5 cents compared with the prior week to $3.411 on July 9th . Compared with the same week of the prior year, the price of regular‐grade gasoline fell by 6.3% in the latest week, which was its 12th straight year-over-year drop. For all of June, ICSC Research forecasts a comparable‐store sales gain of about 1.0% to 1.5% (including drug stores, which will be reported later due to the calendar). Excluding drug stores, sales are expected to increase by around 3.0% to 3.5%
Posted: July 10, 2012 Tuesday 07:45 AM