Weekly U.S. Chain-Store Sales Fall 3%

RAPAPORT... U.S. chain-store sales rose 2.5 percent year on year for the week that ended on November 30, in large part due to easy comparisons with November 2012, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and Goldman Sachs. However, in a more telling sign of  shifting consumer spending trends, week-to-week comparable-store sales fell 2.8 percent, even though the period included the all important Thanksgiving weekend.

“Retailers certainly tried to entice consumers to shop this past week as they once again extended their hours and provided a number of doorbusters on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday that lifted consumer traffic,” said Michael Niemira, ICSC's vice president of research and chief economist. “Consumers have completed an average 37.3 percent of their holiday-gift buying, which means there is still a lot left to do over the upcoming weeks and the early performance typically is no bellwether of the season as a whole.”

ICSC Research anticipates that November's chain-store sales will reflect an increase of 3.5 percent to 4.5 percent.  The weekly chain-store sales snapshot is produced by ICSC and Goldman Sachs to measure U.S. nominal same-store, or comparable-store, sales while excluding restaurant and vehicle demand. The weekly sales index is presented on an adjusted basis to account for normal seasonal and other data anomalies.