WASHINGTON (MNI) – The following is the commentary from the
ICSC-Goldman Sachs Weekly Chain Store Sales Snapshot released Tuesday:
Consumers preparing for the arrival of Hurricane Sandy along the
East Coast gave retailers a bit of a sales increase this past week.As
a result, weekly retail sales for the week ending October 20 rose by
0.5%, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
and Goldman Sachs Weekly Chain Store Sales Index. On a year-over-year
basis, retail sales fell slightly by 2.7%.
“Abnormally warm weather lingered last week, which curbed seasonal
merchandise demand, while residents in the East prepped to faced
Hurricane Sandy, which seemingly helped lift grocery store
business-according the ICSC-Goldman Sachs weekly consumer tracking
survey,” said Michael Niemira, ICSC vice president of research and chief
economist.”Overall, though the week’s sales were decent, though there
were pockets of softness among the seasonal categories,” Niemira added.
For October, ICSC research anticipates that the sales pace will
remain consistent with an increase of 3.5% to 4.0% (excluding drug
stores) when retailers report their monthly numbers on Thursday,
November 1, 2012.
** MNI Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **
[TOPICS: MAUDT$,MAUDS$,M$U$$$]
