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RAPAPORT... U.S. chain-store sales rose 1.5 percent year on year for the week that ended on March 15, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and Goldman Sachs. Comparable-store sales improved just 0.7 percent from the previous week. “Weather Trends International put it best on the weather conditions over the past week when they said, it was a ‘battle between winter and spring,’ which seemingly added to the mixed performance for the industry,” said Michael Niemira, ICSC's vice president of research and chief economist. “Furniture, office, department and other non-apparel specialty stores all saw a year-over-year improvement, according to the ICSC-Goldman Sachs consumer tracking survey, while many stores selling staples — grocery, drug, discounters and wholesale clubs — were softer over the past week. The later Easter this year versus last year, as well as the lingering winter weather, is likely paring the consumer’s appetite for seasonal merchandise, but the strengthening in some of the discretionary segment — such as furniture and department stores — is fundamentally positive.” ICSC Research anticipates that chain-store sales will increase 3 percent for March. 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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