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RAPAPORT...
U.S. chain-store sales rose 4.5 percent year on year for the week that ended on May 12, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and Goldman Sachs. However, the week-to-week change in comparable-store sales this month continue to reflect a negative trend. ICSC observed a 0.8 percent drop in same-store sales, the third consecutive weekly decline. "Despite the sales incentive with Mother’s Day on Sunday, weekly sales continued to slow this past week,” said Michael Niemira, ICSC's vice president of research and chief economist. “There is some positive news on the horizon as the average price of gasoline at the pump receded for its sixth-consecutive week, which is helping to strengthen discretionary spending power,” Niemira added. ICSC Research expects comparable-store sales to increase by 3 percent for the month of May. 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 seasonality and other data anomalies.
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