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RAPAPORT... U.S. chain-store sales rose 2.2 percent year on year for the week that ended on August 17, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and Goldman Sachs. However, weekly comparable-store sales dropped by 1.9 percent.
“Sales continued a choppy performance with the latest week’s weakness being driven by slower business for discounters and dollar stores, in particular," said Michael Niemira, ICSC's vice president of research and chief economist. "On the other hand, performance was stronger for specialty stores, electronics stores and grocery stores. The good news is that a bout of cool weather nationally helped to drive back-to-school shopping, but compositional shifts offset much of that benefit.”
Even with mixed results so far this month, ICSC Research remains optimistic that comparable-store sales will lift by between 4.5 percent and 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.
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