WASHINGTON (MNI) – The following is the commentary from the
ICSC-Goldman Sachs Weekly Chain Store Sales Snapshot released
Tuesday:
As much as shopping on Black Friday is a tradition for consumers,
so is the traditional lull in holiday shopping the week after. As such,
consumers took their “break” from holiday shopping this past week and as
a result, weekly retail sales declined. Overall for the week ending
December 3, 2011, weekly retail sales declined by 2.3 percent, according
to International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and Goldman Sachs
Weekly Chain Store Sales Index. On a year-over-year basis, retail sales
also slowed to 3.8 percent.
“The post-Thanksgiving-Black Friday week lull set in as consumers
took their traditional break from holiday shopping this past week,” said
Michael Niemira, ICSC vice president of research and chief economist.
“Despite the weekly dip, the year-over-year pace continues to be healthy
as the overall holiday-gift completion rate jumped in the latest week
compared with the same period of 2010,” added Niemira.
For December, ICSC expects that comparable-store sales will
increase by 3.5 to 4.0 percent following November’s softer-than-excepted
2.8 percent year-over-year increase.
** Market News International Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **
[TOPICS: MAUDT$,MAUDS$,M$U$$$]
